The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka
School for the Deaf and Blind "finding it difficult to feed children"
Breaking barriers of impairment, they reach out for knowledge
Mar 14 2009
Set up in 1912, The Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind in Ratmalana that
relies on funding from
the state, NGOs and wellwishers provides its students the same level of
education as in a mainstream
school
By Dhananjani Silva, Pix by Sanka Vidanagama
Eleven-year-old Shalini (name changed) is transported to another world the
moment she feels she has
entered the school library. She walks up to a table in a quiet corner and
impatiently waits for
someone to place a Braille book in front of her.
She reads and reads; asks for more books and even refuses to leave the library
saying “ane teacher
mata thawa poth kiyawanna one (please teacher, I want to read more).”
An ardent lover of books, Shalini is a fast reader, says her teacher at the
Ceylon School for the
Deaf and Blind in Ratmalana. Bubbly and talkative though visually impaired,
this young girl tells us
about her Amma and Appacchi who are in the village in Doragala, Gampola.
CAPTION: Computer technology and braille text books: Opening doors to step into
society as
contributors and not dependents.
The School for the Deaf and Blind in Ratmalana has many students like Shalini
who, as quoted in the
school’s Mission statement, are “progressing from handicapped dependent to self
managing
contributors in society”. Some have successfully completed their studies and
been able to obtain
employment in banks, garment factories as well as in leading private sector
companies as telephone
operators, graphic designers etc.
The Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind in Ratmalana established in 1912 cares
for about 150 blind
and 200 deaf students. In 1956, another school was also set up in Kaithady
Jaffna called Nuffield
School for Deaf and Blind and caters to about 180 students with both types of
impairments.
Children in these schools receive the same level of education as normal
children and the curriculum
followed is as in a mainstream school, says Executive Director of the School
L.P.R. Mendis.
Accommodation is provided during term time as 90% of the students are from
remote areas. The
services are provided to these children free of charge and the school’s main
source of funding is
through donations received from the government, public and various NGOs.
Classes are conducted from primary up to Ordinary Level with the use of special
technical aids like
vision enhancers in assisting the handicapped to read and write.
In 2007, 10 students out of the 17 who sat for O/Ls qualified for Advanced
Level. Several have even
gained university entrance. Government texts books are converted into Braille
books in the school’s
printing room. The process is quite time consuming, the Sunday Times learns as
the entire book needs
to be typed before being translated into Braille.
The ‘talking library’ is for the students to listen to lessons in specially
adapted CDs and MP3
players. “Traditionally though vocational training was given in weaving, sewing
and agriculture, now
we are more focussed on getting them into the mainstream,” says Mr. Mendis
pointing to areas like
graphic designing, printing, communication etc.
The school’s ‘Sponsor a child programme’ is a way for the public to help the
students. A sponsor can
choose to sponsor a child from the Deaf school or Blind school for one year or
more to support
his/her education. Under the Friends of School programme, people are also able
to help in activities
such as sports meets, prizegivings etc.
The school has been my pillar of strength: Melanie
In 2007, she walked away with the title of Telephone Operator of the Year,
having competed with
participants of 58 other companies. Incredibly she was the only blind student
to have taken part in
this competition.
Courageous Melanie Stephens is 30 years old and works as a Junior Executive at
a leading insurance
company.
“When I lost my vision at the age of 12 due to wrong medication given by a
doctor, I completely lost
faith in living and my desperation was such that I even wanted to commit
suicide. I was without my
parents…my mother left me when I was two and half years old and my father also
left when I was about
8 years. Thereafter it was my aunt who looked after me. Later I was introduced
to the Deaf and Blind
School in Ratmalana – the school became a pillar of strength to me at a time
when I was feeling very
down.
“From that time onwards, little by little I started learning. Today, I am
moving on with the
encouragement and immense support I received from the staff and the principal
of the school. They
were there with me all the time; I remember the way my teachers used to
encourage me by saying how
the blind in foreign countries are employed as telephone operators and so on,”
Melanie said.
Melanie won an award at an all-island short story competition held in 1995 and
also Gold and Silver
medals at many national sports competitions.
She is no more a burden on society, says a proud Melanie who informs us that
she has been living on
her own since she was 18. “I have hopes; hopes to build a house etc,” she says
and with her will and
determination, one can only hope more of her dreams will become a reality.
Lack of meal donations
Three main meals and tea are provided for the children at the Ratmalana hostel
every day. However,
due to a lack of meal donations at the moment the school is finding it
difficult to feed the
children says Nilanthi Jinasena, Board Member in charge of the Meals Programme
at the Ceylon School
for the Deaf and Blind in Ratmalana.
“Due to the financial situation of the country some standard donors have backed
out now. Also some
of the NGOs we received considerable support from have pulled out from 2009
reducing our revenue by
about Rs. 7.5 million per annum,” Ms. Jinasena says adding that in January this
year the school was
facing a severe meal crisis.
Elaborating on the meals programme, Mrs Jinasena said that usually meals are
cooked in school and
the donor only has to choose a particular menu from the given options and make
the payment. “The
donor can also contribute to the Meals Fund where the money is utilized to buy
provisions. If donors
want to give a meal on a particular day, we can reserve the date. They can be
present at the meal
time and if need be we organize the prayers as well,” she says.
PoEtEsS
"Happiness is the key to the foundation of satisfaction, contentment and
acceptance…"Zohra Moosa (Deaf Poet)
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom
(i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue
with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone
astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy
Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in
His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites
(men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I
am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if
Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of
camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever
calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who
follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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