Organizational
profile
Introduction
From
birth to death, they live in a world of eternal silence. They
do not know any language, not even their mother-tongue. Self improvised
and vague signs and gestures are their only mean of self-expression
and understanding others. Formal education, in their special institutions
which can help tap residual faculties of hearing and impart a
modicum of linguistic skills, is beyond the reach of over ninety
nine percent of them, there being just five hundred odd schools
for them in the whole of India. The three training institutes
for adult deaf can only accommodate two hundred trainees at a
time. Training available is generally in age-old trades, handcrafts
and not all of them relevant today.
Uneducated, untrained, they fight on their own, a losing battle
for survival, in a highly competitive modern society. A life of
neglect, suffering and misery is their lot.
Children
of a Lesser God, the Deaf
To bring some succor to these people, cut off from normal society
by insurmountable communication barriers, Delhi Association
of the Deaf has been working since 1950. It has been an up
till task. Absence of awareness about the cause of the deaf, has
deprived the Association of the milk of human kindness, also public
and Government assistance.
One of the first to extend a helping hand to the Association
was the late Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, then the Prime Minister
of India. His example prompted several others like Dr.
Sushila Nayyar, Shri Inder Kumar Gujral, Shri Hari Krishan Shastri,
Smt. Sheila Dikshit, Shri Ashok Gehlot, Dr. Bansi Dhar, Shri Rajendra
Gupta and the present helmsman, Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister
of State, (Independent Charge) Union Ministry of Civil Aviation
to come to the aid of Association and lead it from strength to
strength.
Thanks to them, and its deaf office bearers, the Association has
been able to provide much needed help and healing touch to its
members, despite resources constraints, shortage of space and
untrained personnel.
Its membership has grown from just five to over , 1300. Over one
fourth of its members are from other parts of India and make it
an organization with local name
but national presence. It provides them facilities
for education (formal/non-formal), training in secretarial practices,
typewriting, computer operations, Desk Top Publishing etc. It
has a well-stocked Library and a Reading Room. Sports and games
form an integral part of its activities.
