No Limits Cafe
Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia
Impact
The Downs Syndrome Association is dedicatedly supporting children living with Down syndrome and their families. They are also actively raising community awareness, advocating for their rights, and providing education. The No Limits Cafe is a remarkable outcome of their efforts, offering training and employment opportunities to young adults with Down syndrome and their mothers, who have historically been excluded from economic benefits. This innovative program is successfully breaking down barriers, showcasing how young people with Down syndrome can contribute to society through tourism, and opening up new opportunities for all while also enriching the local tourism industry.
The income generated from tourism will not only aid the Downs Syndrome Association in maintaining the stability of their operations but will also provide salaries for the youth and their mothers, serving as a powerful motivation. The youth are already planning how to invest their earnings from tourism, which demonstrates the positive impact of this initiative on their lives.
Critical Need
In Mongolia, only a small percentage of differently-abled individuals in the labor force are employed. Sadly, families and especially mothers with children and youth with Down Syndrome often face discrimination and are deprived of employment opportunities and essential training to earn an income. The Downs Syndrome Association is determined to change this situation by offering vocational training for adults, schooling for children, and even providing a braille library to enhance employability. Through their barista program, trained baristas can now serve coffee with pride.
Tourism can serve as a powerful alternative to empower differently-abled youth while providing the necessary resources for the Downs Syndrome Association to finance their impactful initiatives.
Our Involvement
Planeterra provided a grant to establish and fully equip the No Limits Cafe. In collaboration with our local strategic partner GER to GER, we conducted training on how to create a tourism experience using the valuable resources from the Planeterra Online Learning Hub. This ensures that the team at No Limits Cafe is well-prepared and confident in hosting travelers.
Planeterra also facilitated a connection between No Limits Cafe and one of our corporate partners, ensuring a consistent flow of customers that enables them to sustain a steady income through tourism.
Come, grab a coffee, and a snack at No Limits Cafe while learning about how this small enterprise is breaking down social norms!
