Mumbai Miracle Express Company, a strange company that hires monks

There are about 8 million deaf people in India, and only 37% of them have jobs. "Miracle Express" uses role models to drive social forces to integrate more disabled people into society. Employees in the "Miracle Express" organization are deaf or hearing impaired. A courier service that is fully employed and operated by people with hearing impairments? Can this idea work? Here is the intriguing survival story of this unconventional institution. The miracle really happened!

The quietest office

If you come to Dr. Lakla's office in the church gate area of ​​southern Mumbai, you will feel that this is an extremely quiet courier business room, and Druff and his team use lightning-fast sign language. exchange information. Yes, at the "Miracle Express" company, all employees are deaf or have some hearing impairment, and they are only 20 to 30 years old. At this moment, your previous understanding of the core qualifications for a job may have collapsed.

Five years ago, Dhruv Lakra's "Miracle Express" was opened for business with only one employee and the "delivery possible" slogan. Just five months later, his team already had 4 women, 15 men and a total of 19 employees - all of whom were hearing impaired.

What inspired the Oxford MBA graduate to create this unusual career? When Dhruv completed his master's degree at the University of Mumbai, he worked at an international investment bank for a while, but he said he didn't like that experience. He said that the key to his new ideas is his consistent interest in philanthropy and his understanding of social enterprises during his studies. So, he had the idea of ​​creating a deaf express company.

After visiting a number of Mumbai clubs in Mumbai, he recruited employees. Soon, Mumbai had a message that someone had recruited a swearing-in for the express delivery business, so Dhruv met a lot of motivated people. After careful review and background checks of the qualified individuals identified, he employed 14 people. He started the business with his own deposit and "angel investment."

Is a company, not a charity

Miracle Express is like any other professional institution – there is no pity or sympathy for mediocrity here. Dhruv is very strict with the people he hires. Once in the organization, they must abide by the company's rules and regulations, from time to work, wearing the prescribed walking shoes and clean uniforms, to return to the office with a delivery receipt. The salary and rewards Dhruv paid to them are also very high.

“We are not a charity, but a company that needs to make a profit,” Druff told reporters. “We not only give them the opportunity to support themselves, but also help them grow their skills and adapt to the development of society like normal people.”

Everyone who does a job has a bonus. The goal is clear: if you work hard and perform well, you will be rewarded; otherwise, you will leave. There are already two large office buildings that have become fixed customers. The miracle messenger only serves in Mumbai. Interestingly, the courier company will send a leaflet with some sign language daily greetings every time it is delivered.

The employees of "Miracle Express", in their own words, have "made great progress." Ravenna had been engaged in heavy physical labor and carried hundreds of kilograms of grain. He found that this new job was like a new life; Vinod had previously worked as a domestic helper and relied on cleaning to survive; Rushma and Gita They have been engaged in jewelry design for several years. They work long hours, but they never see an increase in salary, and they are often picked up by employers.

Employees working in “Miracle Work” feel that their previous work has a salary, but it is accompanied by very serious discrimination. They have more work, a lower salary, and no dignity than a healthy person. According to them, the new work here makes them feel self-satisfied and independent, allowing them to use their key abilities to make them feel fulfilled and, above all, to enable them to live with dignity.

Druff himself is full of confidence in the future of the "miracle." He told reporters that the company has just received a grant from Indian auto companies, which he will use to open a third office and hire more deaf people. But this young social enterprise still faces various challenges. For example, training, hiring, taking orders, finding customers and promoting, these jobs are now done by Dhruv alone. He needs volunteers and other resources to help, so he can expand his clients and make his business in other cities.