CAFE EMPLOYEES WITH MILD DEMENTIA

[Anchor Lead]

It would be more than strange to have the waiting staff of a restaurant or a cafe forget your orders. But it is not at all strange to have your order forgotten or mixed up at a cafe in Tongyeong, because its employees are senior citizens with mild symptoms of dementia. We take you there right now.

[Pkg]

A cafe in Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do Province. Employees here are senior citizens well over the age of 70. Speed and efficiency may not be their forte, but they have no problem taking orders and serving beverages.

[Soundbite] LEE IN-GYEONG(CAFE CUSTOMER) : "Everything's the same except they're old and can't move that quickly. I feel like I'm at my grandmother's or mother's place. It's nice."

These silver employees have another thing in common: dementia. Eight seniors with mild symptoms of dementia take turn working two-hour shifts at the cafe three days a week.

[Soundbite] PARK MYEONG-DEOK(75, CAFE EMPLOYEE) : "I sometimes forget. That's not good at all."

The elderly employees try to keep their cognitive skills sharp. Customers learn to change their negative perceptions of dementia patients. Getting the orders mixed up or forgetting to take customers' credit cards are no rare phenomenons, but such mistakes are easily overlooked at 'the cafe where orders are forgotten.'

[Soundbite] CHOI JEONG-WON(TONGYEONG URBAN RENEWAL SUPPORT CENTER) : "People come to understand that senior citizens with dementia can do such work. Ordinary people begin to see dementia patients differently."

Customers who were perplexed at first soon come to understand after reading the menu and the notice. The employees prefer working to staying home alone. They find joy in meeting different people.

[Soundbite] PARK MYEONG-DEOK(75, CAFE EMPLOYEE) : "I become depressed when I am home alone, so I like coming to work and meeting people."

[Soundbite] KIM SUN-WAN(82, CAFE EMPLOYEE) : "I don't want to be lazy. I want to treat customers well and have fun working."

Together with the Senior Club and the Urban Renewal Support Center, the Tongyeong City Public Health Center has been operating 'the cafe where orders are forgotten' since October. The project will wrap up by the end of next month. The ultimate goal is to change people's awareness and create an environment where dementia patients, families, and local communities can coexist in harmony.

[Soundbite] HAN SU-WON(TONGYEONG DEMENTIA SUPPORT CENTER) : "They should be perceived as people with challenging conditions, not as scary patients. That misperception must change."

The senior citizens continue working hard to overcome their illness and live together with others as productive members of their community.