Myo Naing, 26, hearing-impaired, works at pastry kitchen of a well-known hotel in Yangon, Myanmar, March 28, 2019. Myo Naing is currently working as Commis II at the pastry kitchen of Novotel Yangon Max, listed in Myanmar's finest hotels. (Xinhua/Wai Yan)
By Khin Zar Thwe
YANGON, April 30 (Xinhua) -- A man in white uniform is preparing desserts amid the noises in a busy kitchen of a well-known hotel in Myanmar's largest city of Yangon.
Myo Naing, 26-year-old hearing-impaired person, is currently working as Commis II at the pastry kitchen of Novotel Yangon Max, listed in Myanmar's finest hotels.
Being immune to the sounds and voices seems not to be a barrier to his passion of creating sweet and savory desserts, but strengthens his attention and concentration on pastries.
"My parents found out my impairment when I suffered from a serious illness at the age of 7," Myo Naing told Xinhua, with the help of a sign language interpreter.
"Through my parent's connection, I was sent to the Mary Chapman School for the Deaf. At first when I arrived at the school, it was tough to adapt to the new environment, especially in learning sign language which was very new to me. It took at least three months for me to overcome it by practicing hard," he said.
He studied until secondary education and he has no trouble in reading and writing.
The culinary training course at the school was his starting point to enter the culinary world, which ignited his passion for cooking.
One day in 2017, he got an offer to apply for a training program at Novotel Yangon Max, through the support of Shwe Min Tha Foundation, a disabled people's organization and his school, Mary Chapman.
"We offered a total of 15 positions for persons with disabilities (PWDs) and 15 people including Myo Naing were chosen out of the shortlisted PWDs who could meet our job description requirements," Chit Chit Naing, director of Talent and Culture of Novotel Yangon Max said.
"We didn't mind if they had working experiences as we had training sessions for them under the guidance of senior staffs and sign language interpreters and we hired Myo Naing just because of his enthusiasm," she said.
She said that there were some difficulties in communication at first as they had different impairments. But most of their colleagues can communicate with them using sign language now.
After a year since his debut at the hotel, Myo Naing was given the talent award for trust in recognition of his honesty and liability for the guests and the hotel in 2018.
He was mentioned by his superiors and colleagues as a reliable and cooperative person with a positive attitude.
But, not everything went smoothly for Myo Naing. He had unpleasant experiences of being humiliated by some people before, but he did not care and continued efforts to reach his goal of being a successful pastry chef.
"I would like to encourage and urge people who suffer from impairments that you all should try your utmost no matter how people humiliate you. Don't lose yourself!" Myo Naing said, thanking his colleagues who willingly accepted him.
The young man is now going all out to reach his goal -- "A Notable Pastry Chef" at a busy kitchen, by giving a full concentration on delicious cakes and desserts in his silent world without being bothered by surrounding noises.
