Christened the Christian Deaf Center: Coast Restaurant Managed by Deaf Staff

The crew of a new restaurant in Kwale, Coast Region, has consistently shown throughout the years that incapacity does not equal impairment.

The restaurant, which goes by the name of the Christian Deaf Center, has caught the interest of Kwale’s downtown. Its whole staff is deaf.

The restaurant’s manager, Kidanga Salimini, stated in a statement to the media on Saturday, January 30, that tea and Mahamri were initially served.

Within the first month, they received several customers who were impressed with their service which in turn motivated them to expand their menu to popular Kenyan meals such as pilau.

“The first time when we started the hotel before the pandemic, we served tea and coffee. We had customers praise us that we know how to properly prepare tea.

“We expanded but then the pandemic hit us and we experienced a lot of challenges such as getting stock since people had gone back home,” Salimini told KTN News.

He added that he was inspired in founding the establishment to offer employment to individuals who experience difficulty in looking for jobs across the county.

“Some of them were just staying at home and were not valued at all. We have different opportunities and skills that they can learn,” he added noting that he was steadfast in training his employees.

Jumia Ngovi, one of the employees who doubles as a waitress and cashier, was employed after dropping out of High School due to lack of school fees.

“I attended primary school and completed my class eight studies. I went back home and waited (for high school admission). I asked my parents about it but they told me to wait,” she added.

Several Kilometers away from Kwale, there is another upcountry restaurant made up of staff with hearing impairment in Nairobi.

Founded in January 2019, Pallet Cafe has stood the test of time and recently celebrated its third anniversary.

“We opened on January 20, 2019, I can proudly say that we are doing okay. In total, we have 50 (employees) and 14 of them are hearing impaired,” stated its founder Susan Watkins.

Managers in both establishments, however, admit that challenges always arise when it comes to communications between the staff and some of the customers.