A shop in Indore has not only opened new horizons for the disabled but has also helped them get into a mainstream commercial sector. Apna Sweets shop employs specially abled people, helping them become self-reliant and changing their lives for the better.

Its owner, Prakash Rathore was awarded the National Award for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) by the central government for this unique initiative. Rathore is proud of his employees and said that they were all very efficient and all they needed was a push and some support.

Gulnaz Shah, whose one hand and a foot became numb after a wrong injection in childhood didn’t lose hope. She funded her own education by taking tuitions after her father’s death and is now handling the food counter at the shop. She said that the job keeps her motivation levels high and she enjoys the feeling of being financially independent.

Visually impaired Sachin Raj is another employee who takes care of the token counter and handles hundreds of customers a day. Being born blind, he never thought he could work, but he learned the system in two days and easily goes about doing his work at the sweet shop.

From food counters to bill counters, and from mopping the floor to serving food, everything at Apna Sweets is mostly micromanaged by Divyangs.

Rathore believes that by employing disabled people he is not only giving them a ray of hope but helping the city progress.