Syria’s First Inclusive Cafe Aims To Integrate Disabled People Into Society

Syria has opened the country’s first café staffed by people with Down syndrome, located in Tishreen Park in the capital Damascus.

The café, Sucette, is run by 20 people with Down syndrome, according to the Xinhua news agency, and is the result of an initiative by the local charity Juzour Association which operates several humanitarian projects.

Last year, the Juzour Association began to try running a restaurant, which hired people with Down Syndrome, for one month. It turned out to be a success, and that is the foundation of how Sucette came into being.

Kholoud Rajab, board chairman of the association, said in an interview that the project is aiming at breaking the stereotype about people with Down Syndrome and helping these people interact with the wider society.

As of now, 20 people with Down Syndrome and 10 others are currently working at Sucette, Rajab said, adding that the meaning of the project goes far deeper than merely setting up a cafe.

“Sucette is more than a cafe. It is an idea that will integrate this group of people in society and allow them to accept us as well,” she said.

One of the waiters, 20-year-old Muhannad Saleh was quoted by the agency as saying: “I am happy to work here and everything is perfect. I serve customers with everything I can.”

For Rehab Qattan, a young girl with Down Syndrome, gone are the days of staying home doing nothing and feeling bored.

“I have been fed up with staying at home,” she said, adding that working at Sucette is a source of happiness for her.

 

News Source The Middle East Mointor

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