Every guest is special.

The glasses are painted by Sneško Belić, musical notes, smiling hearts, cups and coffee mugs with the inscriptions "Are you ready for coffee?" and "Coffee served with heart". This is how the cafe "Zvuci srca" looks from the outside. Inside the cafe there is a kitchen, a gray bar, and red, yellow and gray chairs and two couches are arranged around the seven tables. On the tables is a wooden box in the shape of the symbol of this cafe - a heart, which smiles with a wink. The menu includes coffee, hot chocolate, teas, juices, sodas and cocktails. It is, therefore, an inclusive cafe that is also a work center, with more than 30 volunteers who are mostly psychology students.

If you come to the cafe in the afternoon, you will be greeted by twenty-one-year-old Katarina Radosavljević. "When I come to work, I always have to be ready and active and, of course, we must not be late for work, we must be punctual," she says. Before starting to work in the cafe, Katarina wanted to find a job and tried to get a job twice, but was not accepted. "Finally, my dream came true to find something to do, not to sit, for example, at home, not to watch TV, phone or lie non-stop", says Katarina and adds that there is no job that she does not like working in a cafe.

Her colleague is twenty-five-year-old Aneta Nikolić. Until she got a job in a cafe, she says, she didn't work. At work, she learned to make coffee, and she usually serves espresso to guests. Although washing dishes is her least favorite job, she says her work is never tiring. He also notes that he gets along great with his colleague.

photo: "sounds of the heart"

The cafe "Zvuci srca" in Niš is the fourth to open in the country under this name. In addition to Niš, "Heart Sounds" also exist in Belgrade, Pančevo and Subotica. All cafes belong to the same network and are opened under the auspices of the "Dečje srce" organization from Belgrade. Sonja Ranđelović, the president of the Association "Zvuci srca" Niš, says that the idea of ​​opening an inclusive cafe came about so that the users of the work center would have a daily commitment, and so that they would feel useful, progress, socialize and develop better communication with people. "They simply stay in their houses, they are closed, they are left more to technology, phones, televisions, which, of course, is not good even for people without developmental disabilities. Hence the idea to get out of their houses, from their home routines, from their comfort zone," says Ranđelović.

In the cafe, the users of the work center are directed to develop as much functionality as possible, and special attention is paid to hygiene. Of the five users, two are currently undergoing training, and the duration of the training depends on the capabilities of the users. Based on that, it is estimated who will do what work - washing, cleaning, arranging. Their tasks have been divided, and for now they have an established rhythm. Ranđelović says that the users like working in the cafe, and that they don't want to go home. "They stay on a shift no matter how long that shift is, then they stay beyond it, because they feel useful and happy here."

photo: "sounds of the heart"

There is no price list in this cafe. Instead of a price list, a wooden box is placed on each table, and guests can decide how much money to leave. "Everything started from Belgrade, they looked to make it easier for the workers, for example they didn't want to hire them at the cash registers because the cash registers are complicated and they wouldn't be able to pay for it. At the same time, I say, we work according to the donation system. Our association is humane, non-profit and we try to work in accordance with those ideas. So who can leave money, who can't - doesn't have to", explains Ranđelović.

Depending on the funds, the users of the work center will also receive compensation, but Ranđelović emphasizes that the most important are socializing and daily obligations.

photo: "sounds of the heart"

VOLUNTEER SUPPORT

About 35 volunteers work in the cafe and help users. Their working hours are flexible, so sometimes they spend two and sometimes four hours in the cafe. Jovana Đorđević, a twenty-four-year-old student from the Department of Social Work and Social Policy at the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš, was looking for a humanitarian non-governmental organization to join, and when she found out about this cafe, she decided to try volunteering there. She and other volunteers help the beneficiaries depending on their needs. "Basically, they've already learned everything, we're here to help them if someone can't quickly find their way around making coffee or tea, for example, or serving guests," says Jovana.

photo: "sounds of the heart"

Twenty-one-year-old Anđela Jovanović also volunteers in the cafe. She doesn't have specific tasks, but she helps in the kitchen, for example. "What I love most about this cafe is that all the users have infinite energy that they direct individually to each guest and that here every guest feels as if they were waiting for him. They have that special approach to everyone and prepare drinks in that unique way", says Anđela. She hopes to also volunteer at the creative workshop, which will be opened across the street from the cafe in the near future. Namely, there are workshops within the cafe, and one part of the cafe in Niš is dedicated to the material that is for sale. These are painted mugs, mugs and badges made by children in Belgrade, whose price is determined in advance. Apart from the opening of the workshop in Niš, in the future it is expected to open a coffee shop in Novi Sad as well.

This text was created with the financial support of the European Union. The content of the text is solely the responsibility of the Institute for Media and Diversity - Western Balkans on the YoCoJoin project and does not necessarily reflect the views of the EU or the European Executive Agency for Education and Culture. Neither the EU nor the European Executive Agency for Education and Culture can be held responsible for them.