Give an ear to those who can't hear

Script and pictures Nilma DOLE

Niroshan asks me to describe how my bangles look like as he touches my wrists, feeling the beads and ridges on it. Nearby, Senuri asks animatedly about where I come from and if I have brought a brother or sister for her to play with.

One of the supervisors Neluka told me that usually people come to visit the children only to admit their children with disabilities to school. "Not many come purposely to spend time with the children at the school", Neluka said.

Huddled together for a bit of girl talk is 12 year old Sewwandi and 13 year old Hansika waiting for the lunch bell to ring. Joining in their conversation, I ask them how the school is and whether they are happy. Looking at their smiling faces, I know the answer.

They talk to me like ordinary people and I completely forgot that I'm actually at a blind school. Two tall boys whiz past me in sunglasses trying to look cool and say in rather good English, Sorry. It's definitely good to know that despite being blind, these children are empowered with good language skills, they are artistic and are quick learners.

The Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind is now known as the Institute for the Hearing and Sight Impaired (IHSI), which is a hostel to 600 students who are either hearing or sight impaired. Dedicated to taking care of these students until they complete their studies, IHSI also trains students for their chosen vocation.

The IHSI runs three residential schools, two at Ratmalana and a third at Jaffna, in the Northern tip of the island. Each school provides accommodation for about 200 students and the two schools in Ratmalana are the School for the Sight Impaired and the School for the Hearing Impaired. The Nuffield School in Jaffna caters to both types of impairments.

These talented and dynamic children are more a benefit to society rather than a burden. For example, there are telephone operators, beauticians, artistes and many others who have done successfully in their career after attending the school. The school's mission statement progressing from handicapped dependent to self managing contributors in society has seen some true stars overcome many odds to attain success. Two years back, 10 students out of the 17 who sat for O/Ls qualified for Advanced Level then qualifying to attend university. It is a rather cumbersome process to convert study textbooks into Braille but the results are beneficial because it is the only way the blind children can discover wonderful worlds.

There is even a 'talking library' built for the students to listen to lessons via high technological aids upgrading traditional vocations into more computer-related jobs like printing and graphic designing.

Various charities and corporations have been supporting the IHSI but there is still a dire need of meal donations.

One example is the Hilton hotel, that organizes creative activities like the Easter Egg pyramid and the painting exhibition on peace to raise funds for the institute.

At the moment, three main meals and tea are provided for the children at the Ratmalana hostel everyday, according to their official website. Meals are cooked in the school and a donation can be deposited to the Meals Donation Fund account at the Standard Chartered Bank.

If you want to take your generosity one step higher, the school's 'Sponsor a child program' offers the best charity to ensure that students complete their education for any number of years. In addition to this, the 'Friends of School' program help out in extracurricular activities like sports meets, prize-givings and other notable events.

The success of the school emulates as the Deaf School Past Pupils' Association that was founded in 1949 by the members late Stanley Perera, Ryle de Mel and late Dennis Fonseka will be celebrating its 60th anniversary on July 5. The distinguished president of the association Shivantha Vivekanadan has been at the helm of helping the school together with the old pupils.