Virani Deaf and Dumb School Rajkot

I was invited to visit Virani Deaf and Dumb school Rajkot, Gujarat on 23rd and 25th February 2023. A special teacher of the school, who is deaf was helping me for my interpretation needs. I talked in Indian Sign Language(ISL) about the communication challenges faced by the deafblind in India.
 Tactile sign language is very important for deafblind people to communicate. But some of them were not aware of how to communicate. They were scared of touching hands for tactile signing. Mr. Hiren told them not to hesitate. They learned slowly how to touch hands while signing and soon they understood.
Durinf the motivation session, I showed my and Society For The Empowerment of the Deaf-Blind(SEDB) movie. They asked me how I could travel alone, and how other passengers who do not know deafblind would help me in train or flight or bus. I explained that it was not easy for me to travel alone because of lack of accessibility in India. some people understood. I motivated them to work hard, study well and improve reading and writing skills.

On 25th February 2023 I was also invited as Special Guest (who is deafblind) at Expo for Virani Deaf and Dumb School, Rajkot. The Chief Guest, Ms. Darshita Shah, the ex Deputy Mayor of Rajkot Municipal Corporation, Gujarat was also there. She inaugurated by lighting a lamp and also cut the ribbon for opening the exhibition on science, arts and General Knowledge(GK) by deaf students. Fast food prepared by deaf women was also there. I had the tasty bhel and sev puri. I learned that deaf students did good work and I feel that deafblind students should also do the same.
After that, I started the evening session and discussed with deaf students. Some of students asked some questions about my exams, whether it was stressful and had difficulty with time management. I explained that the habit of studying is useful and urged them to study on time, have study schedules and stop the procrastination. Students should study stress-free. Not to worry about the exam. Told them to concentrate on reading and writing as well. If they fail in exams then continuously learn and study again. Students should focus on learning subjects rather than give exams for the sake of it. Memorise which will help students to remember. If students forget  then try to read evey night and sleep well. Students should not eat heavy food, instead eat light food and drink milk daily. Students should not talk too much or gossip about politics. Students should not use phone to chat through video call with other deaf friends all the time. Students should focus and concentrate on studies. Continuously read and read and read which will help students to give good marks in exams. Students must not copy from other classmates for passing exam -it will not work. If students copy, then in future, how will they answer correctly in a job interview? No deaf student should fail and lose job after an interview. I advised them to take care and follow best practices of studying. I wished them luck for their future. Hope they all come out successfully.

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