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Coffee from the heart: People with Down's syndrome work as baristas
Despite a law mandating employers to recruit 1 percent of their workforce from people with disabilities, only 700 disabled people entered the workforce in 2023 from a pool of some 28 million disabled people. There are, however, some establishments that manage to hire disabled people and make some accommodation to allow them be a productive part of society.
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Busy cafe: Arik Muhammad Rafi (second left) welcomes customers to a cafe he works in on Jl. Wijaya I in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, on May 2, 2024. (JP/Nur Janti)
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ehind the bar, Arik Muhammad Rafi, a 21-year-old barista with Down’s syndrome, prepared a cup of coffee. Once it was ready, he served it to the customer and then returned to the bar to prepare another one.
“My favorite menu item is an Oreo milkshake with a biscuit put on top of the drink,” he said, recommending one of the menu items available in the coffee shop.
Arik works from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. three times a week at Kopi Kamu, a coffee shop on Jl. Wijaya I, in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.
His parents always drop him off and pick him up during his work days, traveling from Pesanggrahan, also in South Jakarta.
Arik’s mother, Desnila Sari, 50, felt touched by her son’s career, particularly ahead of the Idul Fitri holiday when Arik gave her all of his holiday bonus (THR).
Desnila secretly put the money in Arik's money box.
