• Barista Coffee Lanka CEO Dilupa Pathirana on the corporate responsibility of creating enabling environments in workplaces for persons with disabilities

About 8.7% of Sri Lanka’s total population above the age of five live with some form of disability; about 300,000 people in the 18-60 age group have some form of disability in Sri Lanka. Of the total, 43% is male and 57% is female, while 70% of persons with disabilities in the employment age don’t engage in any economic activity. However, there are people who push beyond what the world has told them is possible and enter the world of work. 

‘Kaleidoscope’ visited Barista at Orion City to experience this first-hand, finding out how inclusive workplaces make a difference not just for the person with a disability but also his family and the workplace overall. Barista Coffee Lanka Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dilupa Pathirana is the man who is making the change – one employee at a time – and joining us in the discussion was Junior Hospitality Executive at Barista Orion City, Pahan Jayasinghe, and his mother, Sandya Wijesekera.

Following are excerpts from the interview:

Pathirana, what challenges have there been in helping Jayasinghe navigate the world of work?

Everything has been challenging, but, at the same time, these are small challenges. The most important alteration we had to make was to our mindset. We have to understand that people with disabilities also deserve their fair share of opportunities to contribute to the economy and to society. That mindset has to be set from the top of the organisation and must flow down to the bottom, to the people who work with people with disabilities on a daily basis. When you set that mindset, you begin to see where you can move things around, and where you can make the space for them to work. In Jayasinghe’s case, this job role was not there at all, as a role to be filled. We amalgamated the job roles of two people and we created this role for him. He does a great job. So, it’s about the mindset. 

How much flexibility do you need here, especially regarding the rest of his teammates, to make sure that Jayasinghe performs his job at an optimal level?

There are minor alterations we have had to make. It can become a little difficult for us all when the busy hours roll in, in this café life. However, we get creative and solve problems. For example, Jayasinghe had some issues with his white shirt, so we introduced him to a black t-shirt, which is perfect. He also travels every day from Malwana to Colombo, alone. We make sure that he gets off of work by 4 p.m., so that he can reach home before dark. One of our teammates always helps him cross the road to get to the bus. These are all small changes – we don’t see them as big, structural changes to the way that things are done. It is our duty to make the changes needed, to accommodate people with disabilities, because if we don’t help them out, whom will they turn to?

Is this the first time that Barista has had a person with disabilities on the payroll? 

Yes, this is the first time that a person with disabilities has worked inside the café, engaging with customers and with their fellow employees. However, we have had two very bright employees with hearing impairments who used to work at the Central Kitchen. One was Ramesh and the other was Sanjaya. Ramesh worked with us for about three years before migrating with his parents and Sanjaya worked with us for about two-and-a-half-years and then moved on after he received a better job. Jayasinghe is special, because we always say that the people who work inside the café are the brand ambassadors of Barista and I’ve been using my brand for the past seven years. I’m really proud of the way he works.

Do you have any plans for making Barista more inclusive in the future?

Yes. After the experience with Jayasinghe, who was proving all our assumptions wrong all the time, every time, I have reached out to the Rehabilitation Centre for the Communication Impaired (RCCI/the Shiranee Joseph de Saram Foundation) to see if we could get more chances to work with people with disabilities. The problem in Sri Lanka is that we as corporates don’t have easy access to people with disabilities. An advertisement in the newspaper won’t reach their eyes. Social media doesn’t reach them, usually. I wish that there was a proper system where corporates could connect with these people. Now that I’ve established contact with the RCCI, I hope that I can keep this initiative going.

What should corporates know about persons with disabilities?

The first thing is that we need to accept the responsibility. As an organisation, we depend on the society and on the community; employees, suppliers, and even raw material come from the society. We have an undeniable responsibility to the whole of society. People like Jayasinghe are part of that society and so we have a responsibility towards them too. After working with Jayasinghe, I believe that there is a lot of potential – economic and otherwise – for the country to enjoy. If we don’t help them, how can they develop? If I hadn’t brought Jayasinghe into the workplace, he would probably have been unemployed and suffering in poverty. That would be a societal failure. An organisation can’t call itself successful if the entire community around it isn’t successful. It’s all about that inclusive mindset where you are responsible for everyone in the society and persons with disabilities are a part of it. 

What does a person like Jayasinghe bring to the table in the work environment?

Jayasinghe, and even Ramesh and Sanjaya, have brought a lot to the table. Jayasinghe continues to shine; he is very organised and follows instructions to the dot. He always wants to make his presence felt. He is a little shy to speak, but, there’s been a marked improvement in that from when he first started, to now. I think that the most important things that Jayasinghe brings to the table is a sense of responsibility and a good work ethic. This outlet is where I stop to get my morning coffee each day. Every time I’m here, I can tell whether Jayasinghe is working that day or not, just by looking at the floor, the counter, and the tables. It is to that level that he makes his presence felt. I am lucky that Jayasinghe brings so much into this workplace. But, even in a situation where someone contributes less to the table, the corporate concerned should create a bigger table that can accommodate what that person is bringing in. Our society has this idea that a beggar without a disability doesn’t deserve the money that he/she is given on the street. On the other hand, if you have a disability, it’s almost like you have to beg. Jayasinghe will never have to go there. Likewise, if we can help so many more people, that’s the biggest social service that we can do. 

Wijesekera, before Jayasinghe went to work, what was life like for him?

Jayasinghe would just stay at home; he was unable to leave the house by himself or travel by himself. After he started working, Jayasinghe has been able to do everything on his own. He travels to work and back by himself and is very self-sufficient. He has improved a great deal and he goes about life like any one of us. Earlier, he couldn’t even put his own shoes on, but, he does all that and more now.

What was Jayasinghe like when he was small?

It was very difficult for us and for him when he was younger. There were times when we couldn’t even take him outside. There were many issues that we had to deal with, up until he was about 16 or 17. After he turned 16, he was very reluctant to leave the house. He would spend the whole day at home, seated on his chair, and didn’t do anything. He went to school until Grade Nine. He can write letters and he can read well, but, he isn’t skilled in mathematics. But, after he started work, he responds to us and is very amenable and friendly towards other people around him. 

(The writer is the host, director, and co-producer of the weekly digital programme ‘Kaleidoscope with Savithri Rodrigo’ which can be viewed on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. She has over three decades of experience in print, electronic, and social media)