0:00:06.823,0:00:09.326
Didn't understand anything, did you? 毫无头绪对吧
0:00:09.326,0:00:10.725
(Laughter) 笑声
0:00:10.725,0:00:13.318
That's 63 million deaf people in India 在印度有630000000 聋人
0:00:13.318,0:00:17.001
who go through this [br]year after year, day after day, 他们年复一年日复一日的经历这些
0:00:17.001,0:00:19.896
trying to make sense [br]of a world they cannot hear. 尝试去感知这个听不见的世界
0:00:20.436,0:00:23.207
Huge lack of awareness and social stigma 巨大的意识缺乏以及社会污名
0:00:23.207,0:00:25.643
of having a child [br]that is differently-abled. 对于有这特殊的孩子
0:00:26.000,0:00:27.919
Parents run from pillar to post 父母四处
0:00:27.919,0:00:30.953
trying to understand [br]how to bring up their child. 尝试着了解如何抚养他们的孩子
0:00:30.953,0:00:33.892
And they are told, [br]"Even though your child can't hear, 他们被告知,“即使你的孩子听不见”
0:00:33.892,0:00:36.280
there is nothing wrong with his voice box. 他的喉咙没问题
0:00:36.280,0:00:38.396
There's nothing wrong 声带也没问题 [br]with his vocal chords
0:00:38.396,0:00:41.239
and he can be eventually他最后会被教会如何沟通交流 [br]taught how to speak."
0:00:41.239,0:00:45.893
There starts the journey [br]of years being spent trying to teach 这意味着这是一个多年的旅程花在指导
0:00:45.893,0:00:50.163
this little child how to articulate words [br]that he cannot hear.这些小孩如何清晰表达那些他们听不见的单词
0:00:50.893,0:00:54.283
Even within the family, 即使在家里,这些小孩想要 [br]this little child wants
0:00:54.283,0:00:56.309
to communicate with his parents. 和他的父母交流
0:00:56.309,0:00:59.930
He wants to be part [br]of the conversations in the family. 他想 成为家里沟通交流的一份子
0:00:59.930,0:01:03.920
But he can't. And he doesn't understand 但他不能。 他不明白为什么没人倾听他们[br]why nobody is listening to him.
0:01:04.620,0:01:06.732
So he feels isolated and misses out 所以他感觉到被孤立和遗漏了
0:01:06.732,0:01:09.923
on a crucial skill that is required在我们成长中被要求的最关键的技能[br]when we grow up.
0:01:09.923,0:01:14.464
He goes to school thinking, "Okay, [br]hopefully things will be different." 他去到学校想着“好吧, 希望一切会有所不同”
0:01:14.464,0:01:17.371
And he finds the teachers [br]opening their mouths and closing 他们发现老师的嘴一张一合
0:01:17.371,0:01:19.827
and writing these strange things [br]on the board. 以及在黑板上写着奇怪的东西
0:01:19.827,0:01:22.880
Without understanding, [br]because he can't hear,他们不同因为他们听不见
0:01:22.880,0:01:26.997
he copies it all down, [br]regurgitates it at the exam time, 他们复制下这些东西, 在考试的时候依样复述
0:01:26.997,0:01:31.474
and by rote and a few grace marks, [br]he finishes school, class ten. 通过机械性以及优雅的记号。 他本分的完成了学业。
0:01:31.474,0:01:34.704
What are his chances of employment?
0:01:34.704,0:01:38.230
Here is this child who really doesn't have[br]any real education.
0:01:38.230,0:01:41.483
Visual words, vocabulary [br]of thirty to forty words.
0:01:41.483,0:01:46.162
He's emotionally insecure, he's probably [br]angry with the whole world also,
0:01:46.162,0:01:49.117
which has, he feels has [br]systematically disabled him.
0:01:49.117,0:01:53.283
Where does he work? [br]Menial labor, unskilled jobs,
0:01:53.283,0:01:56.172
often in very abusive conditions.
0:01:56.179,0:02:02.037
That's where my "birth" journey starts [br]in 2004. I don't have, as Kelly said,
0:02:02.037,0:02:04.440
I don't have any family who are deaf.
0:02:04.440,0:02:07.546
Just a strange pull and, [br]no rational thought.
0:02:07.546,0:02:09.992
I jumped into this world [br]and learned sign language.
0:02:09.992,0:02:13.750
At that time, it was a challenge. [br]Nobody wanted... Nobody seemed to know...
0:02:13.750,0:02:17.145
"What is it that you want to learn, Ruma?[br]Is that a language?"
0:02:17.145,0:02:22.285
Anyway, learning sign language[br]opened up my life to this community
0:02:22.285,0:02:24.905
which is outwardly silent, [br]but is brimming
0:02:24.905,0:02:28.477
with the passion and curiosity [br]as visual learners.
0:02:28.477,0:02:31.141
And I heard their stories [br]of what they wanted to do.
0:02:31.141,0:02:38.612
And a year later, in 2005, [br]with meager savings of about $5,000
0:02:38.612,0:02:42.440
of a matured insurance policy, [br]I started this center,
0:02:42.440,0:02:46.120
in a small two-bedroom flat [br]with just six students
0:02:46.120,0:02:48.844
and me teaching them English [br]in sign language.
0:02:49.597,0:02:53.000
The challenges, the need of the hour [br]at that point was,
0:02:53.000,0:02:56.116
how do I get these kids who just [br]high school pass
0:02:56.116,0:02:58.360
into real jobs into the companies?
0:02:58.360,0:03:03.119
Jobs of dignity, jobs that can prove [br]that deaf are not dumb?
0:03:03.916,0:03:08.393
So, the challenges were huge. [br]The deaf were years sitting like this
0:03:08.393,0:03:10.629
and years of ennui and darkness.
0:03:10.629,0:03:14.094
They needed to believe in themselves. [br]The parents needed to be convinced
0:03:14.094,0:03:16.689
that this child is not deaf and dumb.
0:03:16.689,0:03:19.366
And he's capable of standing [br]on his own two feet.
0:03:19.366,0:03:20.643
But most importantly,
0:03:20.643,0:03:23.519
would the employer employ [br]somebody who couldn't speak,
0:03:23.519,0:03:26.987
couldn't hear, and very much [br]couldn't read or write either?
0:03:26.987,0:03:30.735
I sat together with some of my friends[br]from the industry,
0:03:30.735,0:03:34.513
and I shared with them my story [br]about what it meant to be deaf.
0:03:34.513,0:03:39.189
And I understood there were [br]clear areas in companies
0:03:39.189,0:03:43.077
where deaf could work, deaf people [br]could work as a great value add.
0:03:43.077,0:03:45.862
And with meager resources, [br]we created the first ever
0:03:45.862,0:03:49.187
vocational training curriculum for [br]deaf people in the country.
0:03:49.455,0:03:54.240
Finding trainers was a problem. [br]So I trained my deaf kids,
0:03:54.240,0:03:56.800
my students, to become [br]the teachers for the Deaf.
0:03:56.800,0:04:00.759
And it's a job they took on [br]with great responsibility and pride.
0:04:00.759,0:04:07.328
Still, the employer was skeptic. [br]Education, qualification, 10th pass.
0:04:07.328,0:04:09.053
"No, no, no, Ruma, [br]we cannot employ him."
0:04:09.053,0:04:10.387
That was a big problem.
0:04:10.387,0:04:12.492
"And even if we did employ him,
0:04:12.492,0:04:14.822
how are we going to communicate [br]with him? He can't read, write.
0:04:14.822,0:04:16.352
Can't hear/speak."
0:04:16.352,0:04:19.880
I just told them, "Please can we [br]take it just one step at a time?
0:04:20.592,0:04:23.086
You know, can we focus [br]on what he can do?
0:04:23.086,0:04:26.231
He's a great visual person. [br]He can work. And...
0:04:26.231,0:04:29.950
and if it works wonderful, if it doesn't, [br]we will at least know."
0:04:29.950,0:04:34.826
Here I would like to share [br]a story about Vishu Kapoor.
0:04:34.826,0:04:39.132
He came to us in 2009 [br]with no language at all.
0:04:39.132,0:04:41.242
He didn't even know sign language.
0:04:41.242,0:04:44.756
All he saw, processed in his brain [br]was through his eyes.
0:04:44.756,0:04:46.799
His mother was in despair and [br]she says,
0:04:46.799,0:04:49.791
"Ruma, can I please keep him [br]in your center for two hours?
0:04:49.791,0:04:52.163
It's really difficult for me[br]to manage him,
0:04:52.163,0:04:54.471
you know manage with him [br]24 hours a day."
0:04:54.471,0:04:57.796
So I said, "Yeah, okay." [br]Like a crash service.
0:04:57.796,0:05:02.830
It took us a very painstaking [br]one a half years for us
0:05:02.830,0:05:07.054
to give Vishu a language. [br]As he started communicating and
0:05:07.054,0:05:10.704
he got a sense of self and [br]he understand that there was...
0:05:10.704,0:05:13.567
I mean he couldn't hear, but heck, [br]he could do so many other things.
0:05:13.567,0:05:16.416
He figured out that he liked to work [br]on the computers.
0:05:16.416,0:05:18.383
We encouraged him, motivated him,
0:05:18.383,0:05:22.777
and put him through our I.T. programs. [br]He cleared all the tests, you know,
0:05:22.777,0:05:25.551
much to my nervousness.[br]An opening came one day
0:05:25.571,0:05:28.498
in the back end of [br]a very well-known I.T. company,
0:05:28.498,0:05:31.997
and just for the exposure and [br]the experience, I said,
0:05:31.997,0:05:34.880
"Let Vishu also go [br]for this job interview."
0:05:34.880,0:05:38.102
Vishu went there and cleared [br]all the technical tests.
0:05:38.102,0:05:42.284
Even then I said, "Uh, I just hope [br]he will be able to stick on
0:05:42.284,0:05:44.182
for 6 months at least."
0:05:44.182,0:05:46.371
It's been a year and a half now.
0:05:46.371,0:05:49.579
Vishu is stil there, [br]and he's not only just,
0:05:49.579,0:05:52.637
'oh, this poor guy working in [br]this hearing environment.'
0:05:52.637,0:05:58.105
He is winning laurels as best employee[br]of the month, not once but two times.
0:05:58.105,0:06:00.785
(Applause)
0:06:00.785,0:06:04.191
And I want to share with you that, [br]today, it takes us about
0:06:04.191,0:06:07.600
a year and a half to teach [br]a deaf person to get ready
0:06:07.600,0:06:10.087
to get into this real world [br]that we know about.
0:06:10.087,0:06:15.465
In a short time of 6 years, today [br]500 of my wonderful young students
0:06:15.465,0:06:20.198
are working in some of[br]the top organizations in the industry:
0:06:20.198,0:06:24.379
in graphic design profiles, [br]in the back end of I.T. organizations,
0:06:24.379,0:06:27.560
in hospitality, [br]in barrier breaking employment
0:06:27.560,0:06:30.531
like in the security, and in banks.
0:06:30.531,0:06:33.894
And also in retail outlets, and [br]doing direct customer service.
0:06:33.894,0:06:35.676
(Applause)
0:06:35.676,0:06:39.728
Directly facing people like [br]you and me in KFC, in coffee outlets.
0:06:39.728,0:06:42.053
I just leave you with [br]a small little thought that,
0:06:42.053,0:06:43.768
yes, change is possible.
0:06:43.768,0:06:48.174
And it just starts with one little [br]change in our perspective.
0:06:48.174,0:06:49.444
Thank you so much.
0:06:49.444,0:06:56.138
(Applause)
0:07:02.046,0:07:06.374
And this is applause, [br]it's an international sign for applause.
0:07:06.374,0:07:08.144
Thank you so much.