Rwanda will soon be home to a mime restaurant – a socially responsible yet sustainable restaurant that employs people living with disabilities (deaf) as waiters, supervisors and chefs in order to make use of their special abilities.

The innovative set-up will be part of the soon to be unveiled Kigali Masterpiece Mall, a $16-million complex that is located on Remera-Kanombe road at Giporoso and will be the first of its kind in Africa.

The Rwf570 million facility is the brainchild of a partnership between SRI Investments Limited, Rwanda Renaissance among other partners.

According to Samuel Munana, the Executive Director of Rwanda National Union of the Deaf (RNUD), if realised, the development would be a milestone.

"If the restaurant is established and employs deaf youth, it will show that disability is not inability and will raise awareness on diversity and inclusion,” he said.

Munana also contends that in this case, the facility is aiming at fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals slogan that underscores leaving no one behind.

Chirag Daswani, Managing Director, SRI investments Ltd, believes that it is a timely initiative to have a restaurant employing people with disabilities.

"Besides creating employment opportunities, there will be a huge reduction in the unemployment gap for people living with disabilities because we know that they are in most cases left behind”.

Additionally, "The restaurant will contribute to the development of the Deaf persons by availing them with jobs. They will be able to access basic needs, which allows them to support their families.”

Clarence Fernandes, the Chairman of Rwanda Renaissance, highlighted that Mime Restaurant is expected to open its doors to both domestic and international tourists while serving the local population.

He also observes that as much as the rest of the population in the country face challenges in securing suitable job opportunities, the disabled population are even more upset.

Adding that this facility is expected to be an apt response for the disabled youth whose employment rate lags behind.

"We have observed the challenges being faced by deaf Rwandan youth and the enormous number of them who are unemployed. Hence this project is expected to alleviate that.”

Organisers have revealed that a group of 20 young people living with disabilities will get training before the restaurant opens.

Joseph Kabakezi, Charge d’ Affairs at the Rwanda High Commission in India echoed the same sentiments, emphasizing that this initiative will support the category of differently-abled Rwandans.

Chirag Daswani, Managing Director, SRI investments Ltd, said it was a timely initiative to be hosted at the Masterpiece Mall that already has tenants taking up 50 per cent of the space with the expectation to reach a high occupancy rate by the time they will officially open the mall to the public in March.

"It is wonderful that our Masterpiece Mall has been selected for this socially driven initiative. With just five minutes from the Kigali International Airport, we do hope to attract a number of international tourists on a daily basis, even those who might actually be in transit waiting for their onward connections”.