Bay Bees Coffee Shop

Am not a fan of coffee though I often drop by the nearest CBTL for my “Vanilla Ice Blended Regular Without Whipped Cream“ to while time away, take a breather or write something for this blog. So I wouldn’t have been attracted to this coffee shack by the beach which I thought was generally so-so. But the name and the four-legged bees and the “mug kape muna tayo” made me smile that I had to go near.

As I stood outside smiling and looking at that board after taking this photo, a youngster came near and asked if I would like to have coffee, tea or any of their available snacks and drinks. Without answering her, I instead asked about all the writings, particularly how a coffee drinker has to do with their dreams. Smiling, she casually said it’s a business for poor students. Ah I dug deeper by asking more questions.

I got hooked listening to her interesting story, that I had to order some sandwich and softdrinks so I could hear more of it. She obliged telling me the story even as she tended to my orders. and the story is...

Their group is composed of youngsters who would otherwise not be able to pursue high school or college education due to financial inadequacy. They were selected and organized by something she kept referring to as “NIBC from Netherlands" (so I think it’s the bank). They were taught entrepreneurial skills and other related workshops like hygiene and customer service, until they came up with this coffee shop.

Hah, that got me taking a deep breath. Nice story. I hope this coffee shop thing indeed helps them to succeed, if not as students all the way to college, perhaps as citizens with enough entrepreneurial drive and skills.

Well, what can I say… some lovely global sign of our times…

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