THERE are around 21 million people in India with disabilities, according to official figures. But there is growing evidence that this number is around 40 to 90 million individuals, which is around 4 to 8 percent of the population of India. For each of these individuals, integration into the mainstream is a challenge. It requires time and resources which includes access to education, socializing, skill development, employment and acceptance by societies. This integration is possible but it requires opportunities which is the mission of Yash Charitable Trust, an NGO in Mumbai that focuses on providing skills training and employment opportunities to adults with neurodivergent disabilities.
Founded in 2014, Yash Charitable Trust was founded to empower people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and help them live independent and dignified lives. The NGO in Mumbai accomplishes this through skills training, personal support and food services that include Arpan Kitchen, Café Arpan and Arpan Bakery. Through these initiatives, Yash Charitable Trust has assisted more than 800 persons with disabilities and their families, sensitized 5,000 people in communities and held 80+ seminars, workshops, training and advocacy sessions. Through these initiatives, Yash Charitable Trust aims to break the stigma against people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and foster greater understanding.
What are neurodivergent disabilities?
Neurodivergence is when an individual’s brain processes, learns or behaves in a manner that is different from what is considered “typical.” Examples of neurodivergent disabilities include autism, ADHD, dyslexia, Down syndrome, Tourette’s and other conditions. Because there are visible differences between a person who has these conditions and those who do not, people are often unaware of how to interact with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. But individuals with neurodivergent disabilities are capable of achieving anything they set their minds to – case in point, Albert Einstein, Billie Eilish and Steve Jobs are just a few highly accomplished people with neurodivergent disabilities.
Inspired by a café in the Philippines
Yash Charitable Trust heard about a café in the Philippines called Puzzle Café whose owners started a café to give their autistic son a safe environment to work, earn and interact with others. Inspired by the couple in the Philippines, the founders of Yash Charitable Trust looked at the needs of people around them and started offering skills training to adults with neurodivergent disabilities. The organization focused on skills training in the Food & Beverage sector and job readiness skills to ensure individuals are ready to work in a professional setting. The NGO in Mumbai soon formed Arpan Food Services which consists of Arpan Kitchen, Café Arpan and Arpan Bakery which employs adults with neurodivergent disabilities.
Arpan Food Services
Yash Charitable Trust realized that the special needs individuals that the NGO had been working with struggled in some areas, but their willingness to learn surpassed any limitations they had. The NGO in Mumbai started with a tiffin or dabba service in which the individuals were in charge of preparing fresh meals that would be sent out to people. The organization then started a café and a bakery employing people with disabilities who not only did their job well but enjoyed showing up to work everyday and being responsible for creating a unique menu. This breaks stereotypes and misconceptions about the differently-abled and serves as an example of their determination and persistence in the face of discrimination and adversities.
What’s on the menu at Café Arpan and Arpan Bakery?
Yash Charitable Trust’s Café Arpan and Arpan Bakery employs individuals with neurodivergent disabilities after they undergo skills development and job readiness training conducted by the NGO in Mumbai. In the kitchens, these talented and capable individuals create a unique menu that includes fresh brewed coffee, pizza, falafel, nachos, chaat, breads, sandwiches, muffins, brownies and cookies (and so much more) with vegan options. While Café Arpan opened its doors in 2018, Yash Charitable Trust set up Arpan Bakery in 2023. These two eateries established by Yash Charitable Trust are part of the NGO’s dream to empower the adults to be included in the larger community around them.
Speaking with the founder Sushama Nagarkar
Our team visited the NGO in Mumbai and had the chance to speak with Sushama Nagarkar, the Founder & Managing Trustee of Yash Charitable Trust. The core of Sushama Nagarkar’s message was that adults with disabilities belong and should be given opportunities. In addition to employment, the NGO also provides counselling services, other mental health support, advocacy workshops and sensitization training to corporates, schools and colleges to break the stigma and increase awareness and empathy on neurodivergent disabilities. The organization continues to be creative in the ways it helps people achieve this and looks to the future with optimism and celebration of the accomplishments of its adults.
YOU can help adults with disabilities
When you support Yash Charitable Trust, you help this innovative NGO in Mumbai train more adults with neurodivergent disabilities. Empowered with employment opportunities in the F&B sector, these individuals are able to lead self-sufficient lives in professions that allow them to be creative, be imaginative and be themselves. To support Yash Charitable Trust:
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Shirley has been in the development sector for over 10 years and is passionate about making a change in the world around her, including adopting dogs and writing to make a difference.
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