In a café on the first floor of Xinye Plaza, Shibei District, Qingdao City, barista Fang Zhijie finished foaming milk and pulling flowers, and brought the finished hot latte to the bar. After the guest got the coffee, he pressed his thumbs down twice to express "thank you" in sign language.
On March 29, in a café on the first floor of Xinye Plaza, Shibei District, Qingdao, Fang Zhijie, a hearing-impaired person, was making hand-poured coffee. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Liyuan
Fang Zhijie, a 35-year-old hearing-impaired person, works at the first Starbucks sign language store in Shandong Province. There are 5 hearing-impaired employees in the store, who are called "Angel Buddies".
In 2021, in order to provide more disabled people with opportunities to integrate into society and realize their self-worth, the store and Qingdao Disabled Persons' Federation recruited "angel partners" who love the coffee business and arranged special training courses for them. While training for able-bodied people takes only one month, "angel buddies" often take two months or more to complete.
"If we lower our requirements for them, we assume they can't do it. Slowing down the pace of training and using the same standards is a kind of equality. Store manager Lu Yan said.
Fang Zhijie, who loves coffee, was working as a graphic designer at a company at the time, and accidentally saw this information from the Internet and had the idea of trying it. Lacking self-confidence, he also asked his mother to accompany him throughout the interview.
On March 29, in a café on the first floor of Xinye Plaza in Shibei District, Qingdao, Fang Zhijie (right), a hearing-impaired person, communicates with his colleagues in sign language. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Liyuan
Today, Fang Zhijie has passed the Starbucks internal exam and has been promoted to "Coffee Master". In the past 3 years, 2 "Angel Buddies" have been promoted.
On the store's anniversary a few days ago, Fang Zhijie generously said on the podium: "I want to be a good barista and make more and better drinks." ”
Signs such as "We can't hear you, but we're happy to serve you" are displayed in the store, and when ordering, a special double-sided order screen allows the customer's voice to be converted into text in real time, and the "Angel Buddy" can send a voice inquiry to the customer by clicking on the preset questions on the screen......
The store is also equipped with aids such as numbered menus, handwriting boards, etc., while the height of the pastry cabinet has been lowered so that the "angel buddies" can view the customer's lips.
In order to facilitate communication with Angel Buddies colleagues and some special customers, other staff in the store have also taught themselves sign language, and are now able to communicate in daily activities such as making drinks. Sign language teaching videos are played on the TV screen in the store, and the store also organizes an offline sign language open class once a month.
On the walls of the coffee shop are several brightly colored paintings, all of which are from another "angel companion". "Painting flowers and plants, mountains and rivers, but also my heart, I found the joy and meaning of life in the process of trying to create my own value. Wang Zhen responded to the reporter by typing. After becoming a barista, she expressed her feelings through painting and making short videos on the Internet.
In a café on the first floor of Xinye Plaza in Shibei District, Qingdao, some paintings on the walls are made by "angel partners" (photo taken on March 29). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Liyuan
In order to ensure the employment of persons with disabilities, China has introduced a series of supportive policies, such as exploring proportional employment arrangements for persons with disabilities, purchasing public welfare jobs for persons with disabilities through government purchases, and supporting employment and entrepreneurship of persons with disabilities.
According to the Blue Book of Persons with Disabilities: Research Report on the Cause of Persons with Disabilities in China (2023), by the end of 2022, the number of people with disabilities with certificates in urban and rural areas in China had reached 9.055 million.
"I hope that through the efforts of all parties in society, a good social trend will be formed in which everyone understands, respects, cares for and helps the disabled, so that the disabled friends can create and share a better life. Li Yingjie, director of the Propaganda Department of the Shandong Disabled Persons' Federation, said.
Since the establishment of the official account, we have never met, but we have known each other for a long time, thank you for your attention and support to "Micro City North~
In order to facilitate everyone to understand the dynamics of "Micro Shibei", the first time to know the news and convenience information of Shibei, we sincerely invite you to join our fan group, communicate with the editor, and put forward opinions and suggestions, news clues, and whimsical ideas for us~
⬇⬇⬇
(If you are not convenient to communicate in the group, you can send a private message to the editor through the official account~)
(Source: Xinhua News Agency)
About us
Welcome to pay attention to the "Micro City North" public account
"Micro Shibei" is the official public account of the Shibei District Rong Media Center
The general public is welcome to leave us a message or provide news clues
E-mail: [email protected]
Dots to share
Point Collection