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Submitted by Sen on 2 July 2018
Aditi Verma wth chef Vikas Khanna outside the cafe Aditi's Corner

Aditi’s Corner in Navi Mumbai is run by Aditi Verma, who has Down’s Syndrome. This is the story of how Aditi started a cafe and how she wants to expand it. The picture above is Aditi with chef Vikas Khanna.

Parent Talk: ( Aditi’s father, Amit Verma speaks)

Please tell us when was it that you detected that Aditi had a condition? How did you deal with it?

We came to know about her state just after her birth. As our brother-in-law is a doctor, he explained it to us in detail.

He told us it is not a disease, it is a condition. And it has its shortcomings and developmental challenges.

As a Down’s Syndrome child, she had late growth -- sat up late, walked late, talked late, and her motor reactions were not smooth, as also weak muscles.

Later, at the age of two, we discovered that she needs correction in her heart also as she had a hole in her heart. Aditi went through with an open heart surgery at the age of 2 years 8 months.

Initially we were shocked by the turn of events, but later we understood her condition and decided to accept things as they are.

Did you have to send her to a special school? Did that help her?

Initially we sent her to a regular school, but realized at a very early stage that she is not able to cope with the others as she was slow to walk, her speech was not clear and due to that neither the other kids wanted to play with her nor the teacher could give her attention.

When we shifted her to a special school, things started to fall in line, and she responded well. The hard work and guidance of the special teacher helped her and us a lot.

What was the thought behind Aditi’s Corner?

After her completion of her vocational training at her school at the age of 21 yrs,she started coming to our office, she learned data entry and was doing well but she used to get bored after 2-3 hours. This was very monotonous for her.

One day she saw the chaiwala who used to come to our office, and she asked her mother, “ I can also make tea at home and bring here and serve to all offices”. This was when the idea of Aditi’s Corner came to her mother’s mind. We thought let’s give her a chance and her younger brother Aman gifted her Aditi’s Corner on 1st Jan’2016.

How did you go about it?

Once this idea of opening a café was decided, then her brother decided to go ahead with it on New Year’s day.

We were lucky to get a shop a floor above our office in the same premises, so we were near her as well and she could also operate independently.

Nestle helped us by providing Tea & Coffee vending machine on rent, that saved us from buying. They also asked its dealer to supply at Aditi’s corner, as our orders were very small.

Regarding staff, we started with two – one for supporting her in cooking and other for deliveries to the offices.

And slowly things started falling in place and with support of everyone the journey started.

How has it helped rehabilitate Aditi? Is she happy doing what she does?

Yes, this has really changed her. She is a very confident girl today who believes that she can face any challenges.

She is also very focused now..

She is much more expressive and her communication skill has improved a lot.

A girl who used to struggle to speak one small sentence, now she shares her life story as a part of motivational talks.

She was on TEDX Kharghar Navi Mumbai, she was invited by many schools, the Rotary Club, and even Corporate Houses like Bayer India to share her story.

How does she manage the cafe? What are her job responsibilities?

She looks after the Café as her own with the support of three staff – two who take care of the cooking part and one who does deliveries at the offices.

She takes order, makes sure of timely delivery of orders, feedback of clients, PRO.

She keeps record of every sale and also tracks credit sales.

She also maintains stocks and keeps track of items which are bought on a daily basis.

Do you have other programmes for young adults with a condition? What are they?

Yes, Aditi has plans to make her place big and use it as a platform for specially abled kids to train, motivate and make them confident and independent.

When her café grows, she wants to employ these kids.

Why and how do you think creating job opportunities can help people with a condition in the long run? Does it help take care of their future as well?

The biggest questions for every parent of children with special needs are:

  • What after me??
  • Will my child be able to cope life after me??
  • Will my child will ever be accepted by the society??
  • How will he/she sustain himself/herself??

We feel the answer to all above questions is only one – how to make them independent, bring them to mainstream of the society and make them self-reliant.

So, creation of Job opportunities is very important for such kids.

Yes, job means self-sustainability, means self-confidence, less dependability and more acceptance in family & society.

A chat with Aditi Verma:

What do you feel about running Aditi’s Corner?

I feel very good. I feel confident about it, and I also want to make it big one day.

What do you like and not like about your work?

I love everything about my café, I love meeting people, taking feedback and I mostly enjoy making the bills and collecting money.

There are of course times when I get irritated when things do not go as per my plans. And I also get irritated when people do not pay on time or when they leave office without paying my dues.

What do you hope to achieve? Do you also want to help out others with a condition?

I want to make Aditi’s Corner almost as big as a Five Star.

I also want to support other kids who are differently abled. When I do expand my business,I will employ these kids first.

What are your future future plans?

My future plan is to take this Café from a small office complex to the main market place, with much more activities and employees.

I also want to make it a platform for specially abled people, where I can motivate, train and make them independent. It can be either by providing employment or by motivating them to do something which they are able to.

 

An update from Aditi in her own words on impact of the pandemic on Aditi's corner as of March 2021 below

 

 

 

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