Asia‘s first cafe run entirely by HIV-positive employees has opened in Kolkata. The goal of ‘Cafe Positive’ is to raise awareness and create jobs for HIV-positive people. The staff is made up of seven HIV-positive teenagers.

Kallol Ghosh, the cafe’s owner, also founded Anandaghar, an NGO that works with children suffering from mental illnesses as well as HIV-positive individuals. He was inspired by an HIV-positive-only cafe in Frankfurt.

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“Where will these kids go? As per juvenile justice law, one cannot stay at a home after 18 years of age. After the homes, where will the kids go? They need employment” Kallol Ghosh told India Today.

According to Ghosh, he first opened the cafe in 2018 and is now expanding the business. Ghosh stated that he intends to open 30 more such cafes in Eastern India and has already identified 800 people for training.

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However, Ghosh stated that the cafe’s reception has not always been positive. “Some people get tense. If they come and find out that one of the staff members is HIV positive, we explain everything to them, and the vast majority of them stay. However, some people leave as well,” Ghosh explained.

Ghosh stated that at first, the cafe’s neighbours were sceptical, but they soon realized that HIV-positive people are just like everyone else.

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“One problem I faced was with a chef. I am opening more such cafes, I need professional help to help these kids. I have been told by a chef that his family objects to the place, hence he won’t join” Ghosh explained.

The cafe‘s main goal is to not only raise awareness about HIV and the people who have been suffering from it but also to provide people with jobs.

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The café is well-known for its coffee and sandwiches, and it is frequently crowded with professionals, college students, and young adults.

Cafe Positive, located on Lake View Road in Ballygunge, is run by HIV-positive youths from Anandarghar. Anandarghar provides care for HIV-positive orphans and those who have been abandoned by family members because they are infected with the virus. The cafe is a project of the non-profit organization Organization For Friends Energies and Resources (OFFER). Anandarghar is an OFFER project that aims to provide HIV-positive children with a normal way of life. It provides them with medical, emotional, and developmental support so that they can grow up like other children.