Thiruvananthapuram: Kudumbashree Mission will look into the possibility of starting a special neighbourhood group for people with speech and hearing disability, with Government VHSS for the Deaf, Jagathy, as its centre. The school had recently collected information from its unemployed alumni, and it turned out that many of them were no longer eligible for government jobs, because of their age. When DC brought it to the notice of Kudumbashree, the officials were open to the idea of starting a special NHG for the school’s alumni.
Pramod K. V., programme officer (organisation), said the mission officials could have a word with the school authorities, to understand the needs of the school’s alumni. In Thiruvananthapuram, there are seven special neighbourhood groups for people with disabilities, but there is no separate group for people with hearing and speech impairment. There are groups for paraplegic people in Ernakulam, according to N. K. Jaya, director, Kudumbashree. But since they have to depend on their dear ones for transport, it essentially becomes a group of their relatives.
A neighbourhood self-help group need not translate into employment for the women. The special NHGs for the elderly, for example, are places where they are kept engaged, according to an official. The group for PWDs help their relatives learn about various rights and benefits they are entitled to. Unlike other people with disabilities, people with speech and hearing impairment do not have to depend on anyone to travel to a place. If there is a sufficient number of people who can be employed within an NHG, Kudumbashree offers skill-enhancement training. There is a possibility that the people at the school can be employed if they are ok with the idea of self-employment.
