Skip to content Skip to navigation

Vaani, in service of hearing impaired

One out of every 1000 children born, is born deaf. An undiagnosed deaf child at 3 years of age will know about 25 words, compared to over 1000 words for a hearing child of the same age. Eighty one percent of the parents of a deaf child never learn to communicate with their child. About 530 schools in India educate around 50.000 children with hearing impairment in the age group of 5 to 18 years. The other children do not receive any formal education. Ninety percent of the deaf children grow up in hearing families with little or no experience of deafness.


Deaf children face a complete disconnect from the world around them. A feeling of isolation and desperate loneliness develops within the child. Vaani, a Deaf Children’s Foundation, based in Kolkata came into existence to serve such hearing impaired children and their families in India. About seven years back in the year 2005 on August 9, this organization was registered as a Trust. This Trust emphasizes on the parents of deaf children, teachers and lay people need to understand issues around deafness which is very complex disability. Being deaf results in the inability to develop language which means that the deaf child does not have any means of learning or communicating. Establishing a mode of communication and thus on avenue for learning is crucial for the development of a deaf child.


Vaani supports the development of accessible sustainable services for deaf children and their families. Its model of service delivery is unique as it works in partnership with existing local agencies in the disability sector and strengthen their capacity to provide appropriate intervention to young deaf children and their families. The Trust provides support and training to families, teachers and community workers ensuring that the communication and learning needs of every deaf child are met.


Vaani’s vision is to advocate for the rights of every deaf child to a full and complete life with respect and dignity. Its mission is to promote the entitlement of every deaf child to total and complete access to communication, education, protection and personal safety, equity and equality in all spheres and information and knowledge to reach his or her full potential as an individual and as a member of the society .


Vaani’s mode of working is to support the empowerment of families of deaf children to advocate for more accessible and sustainable services for deaf children and young people. To promote the exchange of clear and balanced information between families of deaf children and professionals who work with them and create opportunities for them to come together, access information and develop their knowledge, to influence development practitioners and policy makers to include the needs of deaf children and their families in their work and establish partnerships with NGOs and strengthen good service delivery models to ensure their sustainability.


So far Vaani has reached over three thousand deaf children and their parents in the last five years with their news letter Lakshana published in Assamese, Bengali, English and Kannada. It has reached over 3000 families in West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Gujarat and Karnataka at workshops seminars and group meetings. Vaani has conducted more than 200 training programmes for community workers, teachers and families of deaf children. It has designed training material for community workers and parents with deaf children. It has also sensitized over 4000 people from all walks of life about childhood deafness. It is also collaborating with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) to develop a curriculum for training of parents of deaf children.


Website: http://vaani.in/





Add new comment

Random Stories

NDFB-S ultra held in Baska

7 Oct 2015 - 7:25pm | Hantigiri Narzary
Police arrested a hardcore NDFB-S militant from Kahurbaha in Baksa district on Wednesday. Identified as Maidee Basumatary, he was captured during an operation by a group of Tamulpur police early...

Police releases sketch of Anil killer

26 Mar 2009 - 9:47pm | editor
Three days after Anil Majundar was shot dead, city police on Thursday has released the sketch of the gunman urging to the people to help them identify the culprit. According to information, the...

History, Heritage and Husori: Marking London 2023 bihu celebrations

18 Apr 2023 - 8:52am | Nina Goswami
Assamese around the globe continue to revel in the setting of a world record when more than 11,000 dancers performed together in Guwahati to mark this year’s bihu. By contrast in the UK, it was 4-...

Protest demonstration in front of press club

15 May 2016 - 9:10pm | AT News
Condemning against the brutal killing of two scribes in Bihar and Jharkhand this week and demanding justice for the victim families, a protest demonstration has been organized in front of Guwahati...

Other Contents by Author

Despite many differences with the sayings and doings of the Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, I share at least one of his views on an occasion that the people of Assam are ‘emotional’. He is right, I agree since watching the various affairs through which the state has passed and the CM has succeeded in having the reign of state administration successfully for about one and a half decades. Since the beginning of last phase of 20th century, I recall the memories of Assam agitation against the foreigners issue in the state right from  the year 1979. The students and the general public under the banner of All Assam Students Union (AASU) and Asom Gana Sangram Samiti (AGSS) brought the entire...
More than two hundred villagers and beneficiaries of Indira Awaas Yojana ( IAY ) scheme , under Raha revenue circle ,today staged a demonstration in front of the Block Development Office ,Raha.The demonstrators shouting slogans against Ataphoor Rahaman, BDO , Raha block alleged that their funds meant for the construction of their IAY house were not released for several months by the BDO due to the fishy deal between the BDO and Raha MLA Piyush Hazarika. Later , talking to the media the BDO also confessed the allegations leveled against him by the demonstrators and agreed to release the funds.
It’s rightly said, ‘where there is a will there is a way’. It has come true in the life of a school teacher from the remote northeastern state of Tripura, which lags behind the facilities in the field of development in many respect. Sujit Bhowmik, a retired science teacher from Government school, Agartala has earned a number of achievements to his credit during his tenure in service and has continued his efforts even after his retirement. He contributed a number of articles related to health, environment and wildlife etc; in English and Bengali language newspapers and periodicals. Several books he has got published so far with him minimum source of income.Now, he has come out with a single...
Recent controversy between Assam Governor, Padmanabha Balkrishna Acharya and Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi over the issue of rhinos killings in state has brought a number of questions in the mind of the people regarding danger to the life of world famous one-horn rhinos.  A large number people have started thinking whether the elimination of the state symbol is ‘state sponsored’ one?. Large number of brutal killings of famous rhinos in the state have come into light through media continuously for a long time, but the state administration seems to be uncared and unmoved on this serious subject. The head of the state as a citizen of India has every right to express his views and anguish on...
For film enthusiasts of Assam and the Northeast  region of the country, an  intensive workshop has been designed and developed by the Institute of Moving Images, a well known film school from Mumbai, which will be conducting a workshop at the State Art Gallery from  March 15. The classes will be held for two months on every Saturday and Sunday from 2 PM to 7 PM.Pankaj Roy, the director of the IMI, a seasoned film and TV programme producer and director, addressing the  media persons at Guwahati on March 2, last informed that during the two months weekend workshop the members would write, shoot and edit four short films of their own and assist others in 20 student film...
In a significant development in which India failed to take-up issues with the Chinese government, Bangladesh has dared to push the issue relating to both the neighboring countries.  According to a media report Chinese government planned to construct several mega dams and hydro projects in Brahmaputra (Lohit) basin in Tibet’s Jangmu and Great Bend region. Bangladesh opposed the Chinese plan through a strong letter from Dacca to Beijing. A copy of the letter from Bangladesh’s foreign office was also sent to Bangladesh high commissioner’s office at New Delhi and Chinese embassy in Dacca. Bangladesh through this letter suggested to hold a three-party meeting among China, Bangladesh and...
Durniti Birodhi Manab Adhikar Suraksha Mancha (DBMASM), an NGO has challenged Assam forest minister, Rockybul Hussain, for his misleading and indecent behavior against Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) leader, Akhil Gogoi as shown on a local leading TV channel recently. The Manch president, Pradip Baruah, has alleged in an open letter addressed to the forest minister on his claim as ‘absurd’ that he has proved hundred percent successful forest minister. Baruah has ridiculed the minister’s claim and asked him to prove his success in saving the rhinos or in getting them killed? He has drawn his attention on the regular media reports of killing rhinos in the state.The Manch president...
Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, is perhaps the supreme stalwart in the country, who dared to under-estimate the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s dynamism, capability and strength. On most of the occasions, he seems to have challenged PM, Modi in order to prove ‘himself ‘ as better being’ proud’ of ruling the state of Assam for last fourteen years. He claims himself better administrator, because he has gained mastery in dividing the people on different issues, which he has hired from the past British rulers of the country. The simple and humble people of Assam fall prey of the false stories of development without moving out to find the truth about such developments. Those who oppose and...
India accounts for nearly 69 million people living with diabetes according to a report published by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). According to latest IDF estimate the worldwide 382 million people are living with diabetes. India is known as the Diabetes capital of the world. November 14 is observed as the World Diabetes Day. The North Eastern Diabetes Society (NEDS), a non-profit organization of prominent diabetologist and endocrinologist of the North-east is celebrating this day in Guwahati in a grand way. This day was chosen as the birthday of Fedrick Banting, a medical scientist who co-discovered Insulin and was the first person to use it on humans.Diabetes in Indians is...
It is more than six months, when Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) decided to construct four city markets buildings at a time and in a hasty action a ‘mockery of foundation stone’ laying ceremony of four markets were done by nobody else than the Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi himself at a single place located in densely populated area of Ulubari. The existing Ulubari GMC market had to bear the brunt of damages of the stalls created by the poor traders of the market for the function. GMC Commissioner and Mayor along with some other GMC officials approached the office bearers of the Ulubari Bazar Committee on March 4,2014, with the information that the foundation stone laying ceremony...