Giving Compass' Take:

• Causeartist profiles a food enterprise in Singapore called Dignity Kitchen that provides training and job opportunities to people with special needs.

• What can nonprofits do to support programs like this one? And how can we raise awareness about giving the most vulnerable people in our society more chances to succeed?

• Here's how we can best serves students with special needs.


Founded by the intrepid social entrepreneur, Koh Seng Choon, Dignity Kitchen provides educational and employment opportunities in the food services industry to vulnerable people of all walks of life, including those with physical, intellectual and mental disabilities, ex-offenders, at-risk youth, victims of domestic violence, cancer and stroke survivors — essentially anyone and everyone who find themselves on the fringes of society.

Dignity Kitchen offers bespoke cashier training to the hearing- and visually-impaired — the cashier machines have Braille markings and stickers attached to them —  and provides height-adjusted countertops to create a more enabling work environment for wheelchair-bound ‘hawkerpreneurs’.

The social enterprise uses a noodle blanching machine catered for cerebral palsy patients with an automated timer, and a glass panel heater to keep the food warm, while eliminating the risk of their trainees accidentally burning themselves with the steam.

Read the full article about about Singapore's first social enterprise food court by Trang Chu Minh at Causeartist.