The cafe's profits go to the Chi Heng Foundation, which helps AIDS orphans in rural areas. (Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily)
Heads held high
"HIV/AIDS is less of a medical problem in China nowadays, but people who are AIDS-impacted, irrespective of whether they or their parents are HIV-positive, are still stigmatized. We cannot control what people think about us, but we have to live with our heads held high," To said.
The cafe, located on West Nanjing Road, sells French bread, coffee and simple set meals. The main objective is listed on the wall: all of the profits go to the Chi Heng Foundation which helps AIDS orphans in rural areas, most of them orphaned in the 1990s when their parents died after being infected via transfusions of contaminated blood.
Chi Heng, or "wisdom in action", is registered as a charity in Hong Kong, and since 2002, it has helped more than 20,000 students from HIV/AIDS-affected families.
The cafe, a social enterprise initiated by the foundation, is named for the 127 children who made up the first group of AIDS orphans to receive an education in the first year of Chi Heng's charitable work.
Shen Jie, who works nearby, said she and her colleagues have dubbed it "the cafe of love" and visit often.
"The food rarely differs between restaurants, but the stories behind their food are very different, so I'll continue to support this great project," she said.
Zhang Jing, a barista, said many of the customers were regular visitors, but new faces used to appear every day, drawn by the cafe's food and charitable activities.
The situation changed after the Shanghai Observer report. Yu Fengjiang, a manager at the cafe, said thousands of negative comments appeared online and members of staff were plagued by threatening phone calls. People even visited to complain about the cafe's existence.
"In terms of revenue, we made about 5,000 yuan ($719) a day before (the report), but now it's around 3,000 yuan. We used to sell 40 to 50 set lunches a day, but the number has fallen to 30 or fewer. The fact that AIDS-impacted orphans work here leaves a shadow in some people's minds, although our workers don't have HIV/AIDS," Yu said.
