A Kolkata café opens a window of opportunities for the differently abled

Young adults with intellectual disability or having grown up in rescue homes manage the non-profit Opportunity Café on Dum Dum Road

Sixteen young adults run the Opportunity Café  on Dum Dum Road in Kolkata.

On the face of it, ‘Opportunity Café’ could pass off as yet another eatery in a city that loves food, but the place is one of its kind considering it is run by young people who otherwise rarely get to join the social mainstream.

Young adults who suffer from intellectual disability or have grown up in rescue homes are the ones responsible for the functioning of this non-profit café that opened last month on Dum Dum Road.

“The most satisfying part so far of setting up this café was the six months of rigorous training before the inauguration. Our society, including parents, usually believe, or are rather made to believe, that children with disabilities are not capable of doing anything. But I’ve seen these boys and girls transform during the training. One of the boys, for example, never spoke, but is now able to talk,” Sidhant Ghosh, founder-secretary of the Rescue and Relief Foundation, and the person behind the café, said.

There are 16 young adults who are running Opportunity Café. Nine of them — six men and three women — are affected by conditions such as autism and Down’s Syndrome, and are either orphans or come from poor families. Of the seven others, five belong to a foundation-run home that shelters girls rescued from trafficking, and two are children of sex workers.

“Those with mental disabilities have no idea what it means to earn money — they are working for the joy of what they are doing, and that in turn gives us a lot of joy,” Mr. Ghosh said. “They are the chefs, they are the waiters, they also clean up — they run the entire place.”

“We are one of the very few non-profit cafés in the country. Our entire income will go towards empowering the young people who benefit from the foundation,” he said.

 The non-profit café opened in January 2024.

To attract patrons, the café plans to hold open mic events and art exhibitions and workshops. On February 21, the lead singer of the renowned Bangla band Cactus will make a special appearance there. While the café has seen some repeat customers in the short time since it opened, it could do with bigger crowds, Mr. Ghosh said.

“When the café is empty, these young people stand by the window and stare at the street. It is very sad to watch them do that,” he said.