Dedicated to the deaf

About 100 residents along with members of the Ladies’ Committee of the F. S. Parukh Dharamshalla were entertained by 30 students from the Central Society for the Education of the Deaf (CSED) on Senior Citizens’ Day, October 1, 2012. The children regaled them with poems, plays, songs and dances. Toward the end of the program many residents joined the performers in the revelry, mentions committee member Zarin Havewala in an email sent to Parsiana. The children were accompanied by Mary and Jimmy Belihomji who run CSED along with an infant center and a cochlear implant rehabilitation center. The youngsters had also created hand painted bags as gifts. Elderly residents unable to attend the show were personally presented the bags in their rooms by the children.
The Belihomjis later invited members of the Committee to visit their school. Bombay Parsi Punchayet trustees Arnavaz Mistry and Armaity Tirandaz along with Zarine Chothia and Havewala availed of the opportunity. They came to know that one in 100 Indian children has hearing or speaking problems. The CSED, which is making a difference in their lives, was started in 1966 by Rhoda and Adal Parakh in their living room with just 10 students and three teachers, working on the principle of oral language and conversation to help children to overcome their disability, mentions the email. The baton has since then been passed to their daughter Mary and her husband.

In addition to academic subjects the children participate in extracurricular activities like swimming, karate, dance, music and go on picnics and field trips. When hearing impaired Abhishek Shome first came to the school at the age of three he was unable to speak. A year later his speech had become normal. He graduated in 2008 and now works as an officer in a bank. "A deaf child’s formative years… are the most crucial (for) their development,” Mary explained. "They need to be nurtured, encouraged and given a fighting chance to (reach) their maximum potential.” At CSED these youngsters, whether pro-foundly deaf, rich or poor, and irrespective of caste or creed are taught to "listen, learn and talk” aided with "the best available hearing aids and a totally dedicated teaching staff,” added Jimmy. The subsequent "mainstreaming” or integration of these children into normal schools is the ultimate goal of the School, the Belihomjis say. Giving them the ability to take their place and be independent in our hearing-and-speaking world would not have been possible without the help and support of donors. The Society may be contacted by email at: csedmumbai@hathway.com and its website is: www.csedmumbai.org