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Creating Bridges of Understanding

Background

We, the children of Umang School, Ahmedabad, are profoundly deaf. We share a school building with children studying at the Ellis Bridge Municipal School No. 12 Building. We have been sharing this building for the last 6 years.

The trouble is that no one really understands what deafness is all about and the issues that it brings. This leads to a number of misunderstandings and misconceptions among people including adults, never mind the children. They think of us as stupid or crazy because we are unable to speak as clearly as they are, because we wear hearing aids and because we sign. But they do not understand that we are just like them, we too can laugh and learn and play… that we are not stupid or crazy… just different in a nice sort of way.

Through all these years we have been the butt of their jokes. We have had stones thrown at us from our windows as we try to learn, disturb us in the class by making such a noise that we cannot hear. We have had children throw garbage at us and fight with us, destroy our charts, and in general make things exceedingly difficult.

We have to live together so we decided to “Be the change”. We decided to do something to change all these misconceptions and “create bridges of understanding” that we can forge and cross together thereby creating a better and a more just world for all.

Programme Plan for the Year

1. Getting to know each other. Lets become friends. 16 children from Umang, classes 5,6 and7 along with 16 children around the same age group selected by the teachers from the municipal school will be participating in this pilot project. The first session was one where the children introduced themselves to each other and told each other about themselves. The children told them of their name signs and the other children made up name signs for themselves. As it was a few days before Rakshabandhan, they all made Rakhis and friendship bands and tied them on each other.

2. The children gathered together to make clay Ganapattis which they painted. Unfortunately, due to very heavy rains this activity got a bit delayed and the Ganpattis were not ready on time.

Umang Education and Research Centre

for the Hearing Impaired

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3. The group will do garbas and dances and celebrate Navratri together. 4. The group will get together for a Diwali celebration which will consist of a Rangoli Competition,

Diya painting and possibly a Diwali lunch along with the ladies from the old age home. 5. Monthly or two monthly film screenings together for entertainment and education including

films like Iqbal, Black, Khamoshi, and others, including discussions about them if relevant. 6. Cricket match 7. Sports function and games and Yoga 8. Field Trip or Picnic pending permission from the AMC School Board. 9. Tree plantation in the compound and looking after them. 10. Keeping the compound clean work force. 11. Since we have a computer laboratory with 8 computers, we will work together on the computer.

We are learning how to use the computer and we would like to share our knowledge and skills with them.

12. Any other activities that may arise out of the interaction and all agree upon.

Generation of Funds

1. Collection of newspaper and pasti and selling it. 2. Donations from well wishers 3. Making items like cards, ceramic paintings, trees, diyas and having a Diwali sale

Implementation

1. We collected Rs 760! That will help us get clay, paper, wax, diyas, colours and some of the other things we need! But we have long way to go. We will need to collect this every month.

2. Getting to know each other- We have name signs. Give yourselves name signs too! 3. Let’s be friends. We made these Friendship bands and Rakhis. 4. Who doesn’t like to work with clay? Creativity unleashed! Look at the ganpattis . 5. Problems with the administration. Why do we have to stop? We have written to the Municipal

School Board to give us the green signal but…. 6. We are praying that they hurry up so that we can start the computer classes, and the garba and

other activities we had planned.

Children Mentors Heta Raju Poonam Vishal Divyang

Bhavika Himani Surat Ayushi Vishal

Anal Ahiri Ankur Faizan

Dipak Kirit Nikhil

Umang Education and Research Centre for the Hearing Impaired Ellis Bridge Municipal School No. 12 Building, Fatehpura, Paldi

Ahmedabad 380 007. Gujarat, India. Telephone : (+91) 79 – 26605650

E-mail : [email protected]


mailto:[email protected]



Creating Bridges

of

Understanding




Why do we fight ?

We are children too.

We are not crazy or stupid.




Let’s do something new together.

We have to share one playground and our building.

Let’s be friends.




We decide what we should do ?

We need colours, brushes, clay and other things.We need money to buy these.

How will we collect the money ?




Cleaning SchoolSports dayChristmasKite flyingWatching Movies togetherArt & Craft




To collect money we sell “Pasti”

We collect quite a bit !







Let’s celebrate Rakshabandhan

We all are friends.




Making Ganeshas together from clay is fun !PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com



Do you like this ?

Isn’t it beautiful ?




Ahh ! Now we have a problem.

The principal upstairs says we need to get permission from the school board before we can continue.




We will not give up.

We have written to the school board for permission to continue.

We will start again as soon as we can.




Children

HetaRajuPoonamVishalDivyang

BhavikaHimaniSuratAyushiVishal

AnalAhiriAnkurFaizan

MentorsDipak

Kirit

Nikhil




Umang Education and Research Centre for the Hearing ImpairedEllis Bridge Municipal School No. 12 Building, Fatehpura, Paldi

Ahmedabad 380 007. Gujarat, India.Telephone : (+91) 79 – 26605650E-mail : [email protected]


mailto:[email protected]



Health & Medicine

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