Welcome To Gather Cafe!
Now we'll be making a cappuccino.
This is so great!
I love you!
>Thank you!
*confusion*
To Gather Cafe is in the United Arab Emirates, in the middle of Dubai.
Both: Hello! We're from the Philippines!
What's the point of To Gather Cafe?
To come together and enjoy coffee.
I came here because I wanted to travel.
I moved here from the Philippines about 2 years ago now!
I waited a while, but couldn't find a job.
So my (future) boss reached out to me, and I went to the interview.
The boss explained that she was opening a new coffee shop.
For the Deaf? >Yup!
First Deaf coffee shop!
It blew my mind, because I was going to be able to work with the Deaf and with coffee!
My friend helped me find a job here.
I'm very very happy here!
This one is a mocha. It's very hot! *thumbs up*
My name is Marymam.
Why did this boss help give Deaf people jobs?
No deaf people buy coffee. No deaf people working at coffee or any store at the mall.
Deaf people were not given an opportunity to work. She was heartbroken.
She knew she had to set up a place for Deaf people.
We communicate with customers through the menu.
Before, when I tried to show customers the menu, some people would get confused and didn't understand the fingerspelling.
It was a little hard for some, so my boss came up with an easy 1-2-3-4-5 System.
Arabic Coffee. Two.
Hot or cold? >Cold.
Three! >Three!
*thumbs up* >Thank you!
I communicate with him by handing him the tablet, and having him follow the 1-2-3-4-5 system.
Then I write it down and confirm his order, and off I go!
Some of our hearing customers do sign now.
It makes me happy.
I think coffee teaches us that we are all the same - Hearing and Deaf employees are the same. We're equal.
She has seen how Deaf people communicate, so it is possible to overcome that barrier.
They think it is not possible to work with Deaf people, they’re wrong. They can. There is no problem working with them. They’re doing fine.
But there are no differences. We are ALL equal.
We want Deaf and Hearing customers to be equal:
the workers, the communication - Everything should be equal.
How do we communicate with hearing coworkers?
Sometime we read lips, or write things down.
But we also have a new idea!
It's an app! Hold on!
See how we communicate? The app makes it easy to understand.
My vision for this wasn't just to create a space for the deaf,
But also to show them that they don't have to worry about the discrimination they faced at hearing establishments.
I want them to see that being deaf is not a problem. Here, you are equal.
I want the companies to acknowledge that Deaf people can work well. I hope they all will hire more Deaf employees in the future.
It will show the world that we are all equal. I'm incredibly passionate about supporting this.
There's a lot of support here. The Deaf community comes to apply for jobs, to support us, to teach us-
It's beautiful to see all of this support.
I thank my boss for continuing her role to support the Deaf community.
All: Come drink here!