Gangtok: Physically handicapped and orphan children are generally the neglected lot in the society. But for Mrs. Swarnima Gurung, the physically handicapped and orphans are the reliable and talented employees for her village resort. With their help, she has become a successful hotelier in the state.Mrs. Gurung, a retired school teacher, runs Mandarin Village Resort at Kaluk, West Sikkim, since 2003 with the help of ten orphans and deaf and dumb persons, 19 to 25 years in age, from the surrounding villages. They all can do the hospitality work of the resort like other trained hotel staff.
“My resort is always full of boarders and there are no complaint about my staff who serve the guests as trained staff serve in star hotels,” Mrs. Gurung proudly said. Having seen their reliability and skill of work, Mrs. Gurung has made them partners in her resort business, she informed. “They are not my workers but they are my partners and I have made them open bank accounts to deposit the dividend from my business.. Every thing is transparent here,” she said.
“We have trained the staff for cultural programme also. Now they perform cultural programmes excellently,” she said adding that they are given extra payment and tips for their performance. Mrs. Gurung is currently planning to open horticulture, floriculture and piggery farming adjacent to the resort by employing more orphans and physically handicapped peoples.
“I think this is also one way to help and assist the so-called marginalized people rather than just opening of orphanages and homes”, she remarked
