Cafe owner feeds the needy in Mangaluru

MANGALURU: A cafe owner has been sponsoring tea and snacks for at least 30 needy persons every day. At the Kamadhenu Cafe near Karangalpady, several needy, mostly senior citizens, daily wagers, including those involved in door-to-door waste collection visit the cafe for a free cup of hot beverage and snacks. In addition, the owner of the cafe Sachin Karkera has also provided a platform for the public to help the less fortunate by introducing the 'On the wall concept.’
Karkera said: “After working in Iraq and Kuwait as an airport bus driver for about three years between 2006-2009, I returned home almost a decade ago. Prior to starting this cafe, I operated a fish business and ran a gym. Then there was the lockdown. I had been to the Isha Foundation in Coimbatore, where I noticed that there was a high demand for herbal tea. After having several cups of tea there I decided to venture into this business since all I knew was to prepare tea and coffee,” he said. About eight months ago, he opened a cafe. Though there were days when he would not sell even 15 cups of tea, he made sure that at least 10 needy people got to eat something at this cafe. As the popularity of the cafe grew, he introduced more snacks, a concept that Emmy, a woman from Texas had introduced when he was working in Iraq.
“She had created a board at the cafe, for customers to contribute so that the underprivileged can also have coffee. On similar lines, I introduced the ‘on the wall concept’ that allows the public to participate by sponsoring coupons worth Rs 20,” he said.