End extreme poverty. Fight inequality and injustice. Fix climate change. That’s a huge mouthful for a lot of people. How can you make a difference? Where do you start? And who do you ask for help? The Sustainable Development Goals are important and, as we wrote in a previous article, it is every single individual’s responsibility to, in their own way, ensure the success of the goals. It may seem impossible that the average person can make an impact, and that’s okay, but know that change actually starts with you. Fortunately, making a difference today actually doesn’t take as much energy, time, and effort as you might think, but that’s not our focus today. Today we’re here to introduce a very special woman who has reached the hearts of people of all ages and all backgrounds. A woman who has dedicated a lot of time and effort in creating a place where all kinds of people come together. How, you might ask? Perhaps you’ve already been there or passed by on your way to and from school, work, or university. It’s a small, cozy, and very welcoming café at the city centre of Aalborg, Denmark, which goes by the name ‘Cafe Smile’. Last week, we had the pleasure to sit down and have a chat with Stella, the owner of Cafe Smile, who is the first person to be featured in our series — People of Aalborg.
How would you describe Cafe Smile in one word?
“Family.” Stella shoots with no trace of any hesitation. When asked why she believes this word, in particular, is an accurate description, she replies: “Because a lot of the people who we invite to be part of the environment here in the Café are away from their family. And we try to be a place where they feel welcomed and at home and can relax and be themselves in a good manner. So, for me, that’s family.”
She then joked about the general reputation Danes have, such as being dismissive towards foreigners or being hard to get close to because of their, so to say, formal attitude: “Danes can seem…” Stella halts a few moments in a search for the right words before adding: “They think it’s weird that you talk to them when they don’t know you in advance. I know that in general, a lot of refugees, a lot of internationals, find it difficult to connect with Danes and based on that I thought: ‘Well, Danes are quite approachable if they are just in the mindset of: ‘today I will meet new people’” So, how did she fix this issue? She realized something was missing in Aalborg, a place for Danes, refugees, and internationals to get together. Stella explains that Cafe Smile is a place where people can learn more about Denmark, learn about the language, but also learn about other cultures, other languages, and other beliefs.
What was it that made you realize that there was no place like this and that it was, in fact, needed?
“I started out at the beginning of 2016 to do once a week free coffee for refugees and this was by invitation of the Municipality.” She explains: “They said: ‘We have these people, this space and they don’t have anything to do, they don’t have a permanent home, but they have been granted asylum. Do you want to do something?’ I said ‘sure’ and it was very evident by how frequent they came. There were repeat guests. Not just because they were living there but because they were getting something, they weren’t getting other places.”
She shared with us that about a year ago she seized the opportunity to open outside the setting of the Municipality where they could invite not just refugees but internationals as well. During their trial period, they made events with coffee and tea and people kept on returning with their friends. Throughout our interview, Stella expressed how happy she was that the cafe has kept on growing and evolving. They have gotten a long way in the last year — when they started out they were open only once a week, then twice, and now they’re open four days a week. They are now planning to increase both the opening days and the opening time so that cafe Smile is no longer just an evening offer, but a day offer as well.
What motivates you every morning?
“I love people. I love playing a part in people having a better life.” Not only does she work in Cafe Smile, where she makes a difference in the everyday lives of Refugees and internationals, on Mondays she does food banks where she distributes food to people who don’t have that much money. Why? Because, as she explained it herself, she is motivated by helping others feel better.
“Our prices are so low because we are not here to first make a profit. We are here to first create a family environment”. However, while the café’s first priority is to be there to create this environment for their guests, she later points out that making a profit is what would enable them to have more opening times, more things on the menu, more events, and most importantly — to expand.
Would you want to open café Smile in different cities?
Stella explains that it is of greatest importance to her to first expand their opening times. Then she shared that if a sister cafe opens somewhere else, it won’t be the same cafe. “I think it would depend on the city,” she confessed. We were intrigued to find out that Cafe Smile already has a sister cafe in Copenhagen — cafe Cadeau, a place Stella says she collaborates with and inspired them initially when Cafe Smile was starting out. She mentioned that she is open to help other cities open something similar to Cafe Smile, but she recognizes that each café would differ from one another, especially in smaller cities — where they have a different size of newcomers — be it refugees or internationals.
What do you see when you glance at Café Smile?
“Interaction” was the first thing Stella said when asked this question. She explained that their regular guests picked up very fast that when new people come in, they shouldn’t just sit and look down at the table, or continue their conversation, instead, they should turn around and greet the person who comes in. She says that this is one of the things that is very specific for their café compared to a regular one. Another is the fact that their guests ‘hang out’ for hours; they talk, they play games, and some of them even become friends outside of the café settings. When asked how the café came to be different in these ways, she explained that once you use the word family and social network as something important for the place, you’ll notice a difference — when you’re family you greet them differently than if you are a regular paying customer.
What does Cafe Smile mean to you?
“I thought of a lot of names — I wanted to express value for the people who come. I wanted it to be inviting and positive. I can’t say exactly when the name hit me but the second that I thought of it I thought ‘of course’. There is this sentence that means a lot to me — ‘smile you’re amazing’. I think it’s such an affirming message and you really provoke people when you say ‘smile you’re amazing’ because they haven’t done anything.”
What does language mean in café Smile?
She smiles as she says that with each order they offer a small orange card and on one side they have the text ‘Smile, you’re amazing’ in English and on the other side you’ll see the same thing but in a different language. “I use it also as a part of our message here. I think that a lot of people need a more positive word about who they are. There are so many negative messages out there; in the world, in the media, in daily speech. I want to be part of the positive message.”
“Sometimes we speak a few words in Arabic, sometimes we speak a few words in Spanish, it’s a great mix.” She also revealed that even though the Café has a Christian background, they have cultural events that are outside the Christian faith: “It is to recognize that all people are welcome,” Stella says, “people respect each other, ‘we have differences in opinion but let’s explore if we are in agreement in something, or if we are complete opposites.’”
What would you do if you didn’t have Café Smile?
Stella shared that if she didn’t have Café Smile, she would probably be doing something within the same field. Due to her background in public health, she replies: “Maybe I would be in Africa and do some third world country public health.” She continued by telling us her insight on why she does what she does: “You can always get a job if you just want money. It might be cleaning, it might be sitting at a cashier, you can always get a job but to get a job that has meaning, a personal meaning, for me it’s when I do something that benefits others.”
She then shared that she believes that everyone can make a difference for at least one person and that if everyone did that: “we would have an even better world.”
Are you in need of volunteers?
The answer? Cafe Smile is always in need of more volunteers. But how do you go about approaching the café? Stella prefers when people approach her at the café: “You can always write to me and say ‘will you be at the café this or that day?’ and then we can agree on a meeting,” but adds that she can also be reached on Email, Facebook and even through their website.
Cafe Smile is a place for everyone, and as Stella says it herself: “if you feel alone, come here.”
Do you have a message that you want to share through this interview?
“Don’t judge Danes by what you meet on the streets. Make sure you meet a Dane when they are ready to meet you.” Like any international place, it is important to meet new people but also to try to adapt to new cultures and the environment. Cafe Smile is a great place to start, as it offers not only the opportunity to meet Danes but also to make friends for life. It is a place where you can share your experiences and have a great time with fellow internationals, and Danes who can tell you more about the country you now call home.
Stella later adds: “If there’s anybody who likes telling stories, singing, dancing, come and tell me and we’ll make an event. If you want to share something from your culture, from your country, your experiences, funny stories about meeting Danes, (…) just let me know what your interests are, what events you are interested in, and we’ll figure it out.”
Interviews conducted by: Viktoriya Dimitrova
Article written by: Viktoriya Dimitrova
Edited by: Věra Dvořáková
Interviewee: Stella, owner of Cafe Smile
Photography: Ayaho Katata