Help across continents

AN NGO with assistance from the National Lottery of the United Kingdom, has launched a project with a difference: helping the hearing impaired improve their communication skills.

Deafchild India, besides working towards enhancing the communication level of the special children would also encourage and train them to use fax machines, pagers and computers.

In the initial phase the NGO will offer two-hour training programmes for five batches of 20 students each in a day. The NGO in collaboration with Deaf@x Trust, U.K. plans to start two centres in the city in June and four more by January 2001. Six centres in schools for the hearing impaired have been proposed in the State to train 150 children over a two-year period.

The training manuals have been formulated in Tamil and English. The Tamil version would benefit the special children in rural areas, says Mr.R.Parthasarathy, the NGO's Project Manager. Mr.R.Deivamani, Director, School Education, who inaugurated the two-year project recently said about 2,300 hearing impaired students had been identified in select districts and they would be given training by specially sensitised teachers.

Mr. Sunder Raman, Chief Manager, RPG Paging Services, announced one free paging service for the Clarke's School for the Deaf and two for the NGO. Dr. WAF. Hopper, Director, Deafchild India, said a survey being conducted on deaf education in the State would also evaluate their communication levels within schools and outside their homes.

The importance of communication to special children was highlighted by Ms.Jayashree Raveendran, Director, Ability Foundation. Communication provided information and the latter facilitated empowerment of individuals, she said.A newsletter has been brought out by the Trust, and it was released by Ms.Jackie Howes, coordinator. Ms.Sue Stillman, Assistant Director, Deafchild India, outlined the contribution made by the collaborators in the United Kingdom.

S. Shanker

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