The laundromat named “Giat ky” (also known as the laundromat of the deaf) is a vocational training place for deaf and hard of hearing people, which helps them gain more confidence, respect, and equality in society.
The outstanding green laundry shop located at 7 Set river bank (Tan Mai Ward, Hoang Mai district, Hanoi) is not only a laundry business but also an address to create jobs for the deaf and hard of hearing, where they can learn and practice to help them become more confident. The store has 3 beautiful staff, which are all deaf and use sign language to communicate with each other.
Talking about the launch of this laundromat, Ms. Luong Kieu Thuy, the owner of the shop, shared that in 2019, she and her team carried out a project to study the current employment situation for the deaf. There are many jobs that the deaf are doing, such as sewing, cutting hair, serving restaurants… but she realizes that deaf or hard of hearing people have many difficulties with these jobs.
“I took two friends with the same situation to go to vocational training, meet investors but it was hard to hear… Many times I have conflicts with investors, but I have a belief that this idea must be done in any way. Finally, the fate connecting with the franchise owner of Giat Ky so I decided to combine the partnership. By December 2020, the "Deaf Laundromat" was born,” said Thuy.
According to Ms. Luong Kieu Thuy, this is a suitable model for the deaf or hard of hearing. Deaf people can slow down, but the advantage is good observation ability and high concentration on work. They just need to practice meticulousness, carefulness, and perseverance, and they will be skilled laundromats, even doing better than many ordinary people.
Since opening the store, many customers have returned to the laundry, especially some customers, who even use body language and gestures to communicate with deaf people, and also interact and greeting when leaving.
“With those small gestures, we feel very touched and respected, which gives us more confidence in what we are doing,” said Ms. Thuy.
Sharing future plans, Ms. Thuy said she will try to serve customers better and hope to expand this model to provide vocational training for the deaf. She believes that with a job, the deaf will be respected and equal to other people. With a job and experience, deaf people can master their lives or serve themselves with social needs.
