Asha – The Hope Café’ Opens in Delhi Cantonment to Support Youth with Special Needs

New Delhi, May 28, 2026: ‘Asha – The Hope Café’, a social enterprise focused on supporting youth with special needs from armed forces families, was launched in Delhi Cantonment on Wednesday. The initiative aims to provide hospitality training and sustainable livelihood opportunities through a professionally managed café model.

The café has been established with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) support from United Spirits Limited and will operate under the guidance of the Army Women’s Welfare Association.

Conceived as a community-focused premium café, the initiative combines hospitality, skilling, and entrepreneurship to create a sustainable social enterprise model. According to the organisers, the café has been designed with modern operational infrastructure and curated artisanal offerings while also functioning as a training platform.

The initiative will provide structured training in hospitality, bakery, café operations, finance, and entrepreneurship for youth with special needs from armed forces families. The organisers stated that the project has been envisioned as a scalable model that could be replicated across cantonments in the future.

Devashish Dasgupta, Director- Corporate Relations, Diageo India (USL) said, “Through our Learning for Life programme, we have worked to build skills and enable employment opportunities in the hospitality sector for youth, persons with disabilities and now members of the armed forces and their families. We’re proud to partner with AWWA on this project.”

The initiative is expected to create opportunities for skill development, workplace exposure, and long-term livelihood support while promoting inclusive community participation.