Here, they speak the language of signs to excel

NEW DELHI: rosetta stone As you enter this small room, it is hard to believe that a class of 30-odd students is in progress as the sound of the ceiling fan can be heard clearly. The students are busy interpreting the fast moving fingers of their instructor, as she makes different signs to introduce us. What follows is a silent question and answer session between them. This is a special class for hearing and speech impaired individuals who are trained here for professional courses in IT and hospitality sector. So far, nearly 250-odd students from this institute — Sai Swayam— have been placed in IT companies like IBM, HCL, Sitel, Genpact and food joints like KFC, Costa Coffee, Cafe Coffee Day, etc. For 41-year-old Meera Chetan Bhatia, owner of Sai Swayam NGO, educating these people is her mission in life. Born to hearing and speech impaired parents, Meera says sign language is her mother tongue. rosetta stone spanish I learnt sign language when I was a kid. Unlike other people, I don`t hesitate in using this language when I go out with my family or students,`` said Meera. Today, she not only trains differently-abled people in vocational courses, but also helps them complete their education. She runs a special course for class 11 and 12 students, as most schools in India don`t have the facilities. ``Most students often discontinue schooling because of this. We help them enrol in National Institute of Open Schooling and make necessary changes in the course material, like introduce pictures and diagrams to help them understand important concepts better,`` she said. She has been selected for this year`s Hellen Keller award, which will be given to her in a ceremony on Thursday. But the biggest challenge before her is teaching these students English and Maths, as these subjects have never been taught to them in special schools. Starting from alphabets to forming words and sentences, Meera teaches them everything. She says it is easier to teach them accounts than literature, that is why, most of her students do their graduation in commerce. ``Knowledge of English and basic Maths is essential for anybody. At this stage, it is difficult to teach them these subjects and bring them to the level of people like us. Most companies, especially MNCs, have a written test for English. There is no separate paper for these people and it is mandatory to clear the test,`` she said. Life has completely changed for Vipul Bansal after he came in contact with Meera a few years ago. Today, he works for IBM and is able to support his family. ``I couldn`t understand English earlier. But today, I can read and write it,`` Vipul said in his special language. Similarly, Mohd Tamkin is a crew member at one of Cafe Coffee Day outlets in the capital. Many of Meera`s students have completed Bcom and are employed with MNCs for their back-end operations like generating salary slips, data entry etc. ``My aim is to bring them at par with normal people, so that we can ask for equal remuneration, said rosetta stone language Meera. She has made a significant difference in their life by getting them a job in MNCs, but she says the employment scenario is very bad in the government sector.