Çengel Cafe

Çankaya Municipality implemented the Ç’engel Café project, mainly aimed at making empathy in society and giving an acceptable dimension to the concept of disability status in social life. In Çengel Café, mentally disabled young people are employed and their social rehabilitation is ensured. It gives the opportunity of meeting and understanding the mentally disabled young people by the other parts of the society. Also this project provides the meeting and communication chance for persons with diabilities with the nondisabled persons. The main objectives of the Ç'engel Café project are; bringing individuals with and without disabilities in a common space, providing communicating opportunities in social environments of those individuals, ensuring the full participation of people with disabilities in social life, developing independent living skills outside the home environment, training them on food and beverage service and joining them to workforce.

Çankaya Municipality Ç'engel Café project is intended on ensuring a better understanding of young people with mental disabilities by other segments of society, bringing persons with and without disabilities in a common space and providing communication among them. Many young people with mental disabilities in trainable - teachable level have been serving as the service personnel through this project. Ç'engel Café is the first example of this practice at the level of local governments in Turkey. Çengel Cafe had been a pioneer project in Turkey for more than 20 municipalities. Everything is arranged for people with mental disabilities as they may grasp and perform their duties in the easiest way in Ç'engel Café.

In Çengel Café young people who are able to be educated make all the services. In the Café, all is regulated by the colors and the employees learned all by the means of colors. The table clothes and objects on the table are in the same colors and the responsibilities are distributed according to these colors for providing the order. The colors used in Ç'engel Café intensity; till the clothes in tables to the objects on the tables, everything consists of the same color, and the clothes of the service personnel who are responsible for those tables have the same color. So the personnel can easily adapt tables and make their duties very successfully.

Since the beginning of the Ç'engel Café Practice, the process has been following by social service experts. After experts complete their technical training, they organize both family and customer relationships of individuals with disabilities and have been included in sport and cultural activities, trips, etc. which increase disabled person’s motivation and enabling them to be productive according to their interests and skills.

Our young disabled individuals get opportunities to participate in activities like concerts, cinema, theater etc. and they attend courses such as drama theatre, dance, folk dance, marbling printing, photography, computer training and so on in this regard.

Ç’engel Café is the best example which indicates that persons with disabilities and healthy individuals can work together in harmony. Çengel Cafe Project was awarded with the “Special Incentive Prize” among 40 projects presented by 25 municipalities in the contest held by the Turkish Healthy Cities Association.

Objective of Project

• To ensure full participation of the unemployed with disabilities into social life
• To bring persons with and without disabilities together in a common space
• Enabling them communicate with each other in social surroundings,
• Training of food and beverage services and participation into employment.

What do we do in Çengel Cafe?

• Training of assistant waiting staff at Social Projects Facility of Çankaya Municipality,
• Training of preparation to service where food and beverage services are provided,
• Training of food and beverage services,
• Training of assistant staff for presenting and receiving bill,
• Providing 120 days and 960 hours practical and technical training for 10 trainees in 6-month periods,
• Certificating the graduates with Assistant Waiting Staff Certificate,
• Our trainees are fetched home with free shuttles and have access to free lunch in our centers.
• İŞ-KUR (Turkish Employment Agency) pays each trainee pocket money 20 TL/day.
• All our trainees have work and accident insurance coverage throughout training.
• Those who have accomplished the training can benefit from the opportunity of working in accommodation facilities, cafeteria, bakery, restaurant, food atelier and food and beverage production unit of transportation means.
• Our practical and theoretical vocational training is accompanied by an intense social rehabilitation program for our youngsters with disabilities and their families.
• As part of therapy program, social activities such as music, yoga, painting, drama are carried out with support of teacher volunteers and socialization opportunities are provided by organizing trips.

Folk Dances and Theater Companyof Çengel Cafe perform in universities, festivals and special occasions.

How to apply?

It is possible to apply and talk with social workers in the Center for Social Projects by dialing up this number: (0 312) 473 83 00

Who can apply?

Any person with mental and physical disabilities who live in Ankara and over 15 years-old.

Çengel Cafe Facebook page

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Çengel Cafe

Çengel Cafe

Çengel Cafe

Çengel Cafe

Çengel Cafe

Çengel Cafe

Çengel Cafe

Çengel Cafe