On February 14, the city of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, got a new café, ‘The Orange Café and Restaurant’. Symbolizing a brighter future that’s free of violence, the colour orange serves as a means of demonstrating solidarity in eliminating all forms of violence. Started with support from Care Today and ActionAid Association, this café will be owned, run and managed by a group of acid attack survivors from the state. Ms. Mridula Jaiswal, the mayor of Varanasi, graced the inauguration as the chief guest and applauded the initiative and its theme, ‘Standing for a violence-free world’.

As per data released by the National Crime Records Bureau, a total of 3,59,849 cases of crime were reported against women in India in 2017. One of the most heinous crimes against women and adolescent girls has been the instances of acid attacks, with Uttar Pradesh witnessing an alarming increase in the number of such attacks. Through this ground-breaking livelihood opportunity, we aim to support acid attack survivors to embark on a new, transformational journey towards their socio-economic empowerment.

Responding to COVID-19 crisis, The Orange Café and Restaurant is also distributing cooked food to several marginalized families in Varanasi.