News24 | This coffee shop employs deaf people and has reached 10 years, 500 000 hours and the UK

A non-profit organisation that started as a single café and worked its way to becoming an internationally expanding social enterprise is celebrating 10 years of creating meaningful employment opportunities for the deaf community.

Founded in 2016, I Love Coffee (ILC) is a premium coffee brand community with 14 cafés across Cape Town, Johannesburg and London.

Calling itself the world’s kindest coffee brand, ILC is determined to bridge the gap between those who can hear and the deaf.

About one in 20 South Africans is deaf, and 70% to 80% of all deaf adults are unemployed, meaning they can’t fully participate in economic activities.

ILC has made a significant impact in empowering the deaf and creating sustainable careers for them.

According to a statement, it has created opportunities for about 60 deaf staff members and trainees, and the 10-year milestone has resulted in more than 500 000 deaf working hours.

“The company remains focused on its founding vision: creating spaces where deaf individuals can work happily, building sustainable careers and setting a benchmark for diversity, equity and inclusion within the hospitality industry,” read the statement.

READ | Breaking barriers: Deaf activist Renatha van Reenen earns master’s degree in sign language

ILC co-founder Gary Hopkins said reaching 500 000 deaf working hours is a significant milestone and that the impact they are trying to make is what matters most.

“The real achievement is the lives behind that number - careers built, families supported and greater independence created,” Hopkins said.

Asked about some of the employees’ journeys, Hopkins said Leon Mhlongo, who joined in 2018, was an incredible leader and described him as a sponge who absorbed information and was always keen to learn different roles in the coffee shop.

He recalled a message from Mhlongo, which revealed that he had put into action the baking expertise he had learnt at ILC.

“In the eyes of society, he was unemployable, and here he was on Christmas Day, making freshly baked croissants for his family. It was just, for me, mindblowing.”

Hopkins also recalled the story of former employee Samantha Hector, who was initially terrified but grew confident within weeks of working there.

Paying tribute to ILC’s 10-year anniversary, Hector recently posted on Facebook: “A piece of my heart is still behind that counter. Thank you for training me as a barista all those years ago. You gave me more than a skill. You gave me a space where I belonged. Working alongside other deaf people like me, laughing during rush hour, learning from e