Community assessment: How the project team learned about the community’s needs
Rotary Club of Mumbai Lakers is sensitive to the problems faced by hearing-impaired people and has started working with Shravani Speech and Hearing Centre, run by Miss Geetanjali Singh. Shravani Centre is conducting audiological assessment to quantify and qualify hearing in terms of the degree of hearing loss, type of hearing loss and the configuration of hearing loss. Once it has been identified, a treatment plan is put into place. This is where RCML partnered with Shravani Centre.
Project impact: How the project will help the community after the project ends
Deafness is as severe a handicap as blindness (if not worse). Being "invisible", it evokes no sympathy, unlike what one sees towards the blind. On the contrary, it is often the target of ridicule. Children born deaf face a world of silence, hence no speech, limited education, little chance of gainful employment and, therefore, a life of dependence and social isolation. Imagine the fate of children who are otherwise as intelligent and capable as any of us. If only we could restore their hearing, they would achieve anything that any of us or our children aspire for.
In the case of infants, it is easy to ignore hearing impairment as there is no outward manifestation. Hearing impairment is one of the most common birth defects seen these days. As the most critical years for the development of language skills are from birth to 5 years, early identification of hearing impairment enables us to give the child the enriched input they need to develop early listening, learning & speech skills.
Sustainability: How the benefits of the project will continue afterward