CHIMPU, 23 Sep: The Donyi Polo Mission School for the Hearing, Visual & Intellectually Impairment celebrated the International Day of Sign Languages here on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, KV No 2-Itanagar Principal KR Meena said that he considers “each and every child with special needs as full individuals with enormous potentials,” and added that “it’s our moral responsibility to provide fullest support and nourishment to them to become productive members of the society and lead their lives with self-respect and dignity.”
Donyi Polo Mission chairman Dr Okeng Apang said that “a hearing impaired child uses signs, owing to their natural instincts, as a mode of communication, and we have to provide them
with an inclusive environment in the community level, so that hearing impaired children get enough opportunity to develop.”
“We should advocate increased awareness and action to guarantee that sign languages are accessible to everyone, everywhere,” Apang said.
The school’s principal, H Sharma, said that, “vide the report of the WHO, 20 per cent of the global population (over 1.5 billion) live with hearing loss, and the hearing impaired community in India constitute approximately 63 million people who are suffering from significant auditory impairment, which is 6.3 per cent of the Indian population.”
He added that the main aim of observing the day “is to create awareness regarding the importance of sign language in the full realisation of the human rights of people who are hearing impaired.”
Sharma informed that “awareness programmes on the importance of sign languages will be conducted in three schools of the capital region to mark the occasion, so that the general students and teachers get sufficient knowledge about the sign language and its importance.”
The school’s academic coordinator A Dey and special educators M Payang and Jenam Bui demonstrated basic sign languages for the audience. On their part, the hearing and visually impaired students presented a drama, showing the importance of sign language.
Teachers and Class 12 students of KV No 2-Itanagar also attended the programme.
