Working together to overcome disability

Staff Reporter

Seven-day cultural camp aims at empowering persons with hearing disability

Bangalore: A cluster of young people from the U.S. and India — all people with hearing disability — are working towards empowering one another at a seven-day cultural camp here

The programme, which began earlier in the week, was organised by the Global Reach Out Initiative (GRO). Some of the challenges they face, according to Director of the Disabled and Senior Citizens Welfare Department V. Shrirama Reddy, include the absence of facilities for people with hearing disability to pursue college education although there are 39 schools for them.

The participants had a role model in Anantadev Das (52), founder-president of Sanatana Dharma for the Deaf (SDD), who had fought a lone battle to become the first Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) graduate with hearing disability in Mumbai. They learnt that they too can make a difference.

Mr. Das, however, lamented that the employment opportunities for students with hearing disability were almost nil in India. This was in contrast to the situation abroad, where employers provided interpreters so that people with hearing disability could work easily. In India, however, this concept was yet to catch up, he said.

It was pointed out at the camp that people with hearing disability had one problem. The Indian sign language was slightly mixed up and not standardised as in the U.S. According to Kripa Damas, coordinator of the Sign Language Department, Dr. S.R. Chandrasekhar Institute of Speech & Hearing, the sign language differs from place to place as culture and dialects influence it.

The Hindu, Bangalore , 24th June2007

 

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