Abey Khao: Pakistan’s First Deaf Staffed Food Truck

Abey Khao, located in F-7 Islamabad, is a bright yellow food truck that provides delicious food to the residents of Islamabad. But more than being a restaurant, Abey Khao is a success story of differently-abled young entrepreneurs. Their disability became the driving force that led them towards success. It is Pakistan’s first mobile restaurant that is breaking barriers and taking pride in its disability.

Abey Khao is run by a hearing-impaired family. All the individuals in the family have a different degree of hearing loss except the daughter, Ayesha Raza. It was Sheikh Faizan, one of the two deaf sons, who conceived the idea of ‘Abey Khao’. The three siblings then pushed forward with this venture to empower deaf and hard-of-hearing communities in Pakistan.

“We should create our own path through entrepreneurship, no matter how small it is, because we value our dignity as independent living beings more than anything else,” said Sheikh Faizan, Ayesha’s brother, using sign language.

Abey Khao: Empowering the Deaf Community

They started their venture in July 2016 as a pushcart. Since then, the mobile restaurant has come a long way. Currently, the food truck is located in F-7, Islamabad. It’s a bright yellow truck with a logo of glasses over a lavish mustache which is designed by Shaikh Faizan. Also, there are simple diagrams on the front of the food truck that illustrates simple phrases in sign language. Moreover, the eatery only hires deaf and hard-of-hearing youth. Because the idea is to create employment opportunities for differently-abled people in Pakistan.

Ayesha Raza said in an interview, “The majority of the deaf youth is unemployed in Pakistan, and they face issues like language barriers, inequality, and discrimination. At Abey Khao, customers embrace the deaf culture and place their orders in sign language.”

The food truck offers various delectable food items including sizzling meat, sandwiches, french fries, burgers, and much more. The customers order their food through sign language. Also, you don’t necessarily need to know sign language to order food. They have placed cue cards that customers use to order food. Thus, at Abey Khao, one embraces the deaf culture and overcomes the stereotypical barriers of society.