‘Orange Café’ In Varanasi To Be Run Entirely By Acid Attack Survivors

Following suit to Agra’s Sheroes Hangout Cafe in Lucknow and Agra, Varanasi’s ‘Orange Café’ in Durga Kund will be run entirely by acid attack survivors. Ajay Kumar Patel, the founder of an NGO named ‘The Red Brigade’ which also trains women in self-defence is the brain behind this café.

As per IANS, Patel, who, who is on a mission to give acid-attack victims a chance to start over again, said,

 “We are starting The Orange Cafe from a rented place but we soon plan to get ownership of the place. Our aim is to make sure that the acid attack survivors own the café and run it themselves.”

So far, Patel has short-listed 4 candidates to run the café, namely, Rekha from Jaunpur, Somvati from Bareilly, Vimla from Rae Bareli and Badam Devi from Varanasi.

“We are now training these women to cook food, serve the customers and undertake the billing. We do not want them to depend on others for these tasks. For the first four months, we will pay them a token amount but they will later share the profit among themselves,” said Patel.

Somvati from Bareilly, who is hopeful of a better life in this new venture, adds, “I want to ensure good education for my 10-year-old son and the cafe will help me fulfil my dream’’.