Indian Signal Language (ISL) was the primary language Nita Gopalakrishnan learnt. English was second. Born to deaf mother and father however with the ability to hear completely nicely herself formed Nita’s childhood, and adjusted her perspective of the world, as she noticed it via her mother and father’ eyes.
In 2020, the 42-year-old based Yunikee — a Hyderabad-based organisation devoted to serving to individuals with listening to disabilities in India — together with her husband Chaithanya Kothapalli (44) and her colleague Rahul Jain (34).
“I by no means noticed my mother and father as being completely different from different mother and father,” Nita shares. “To me, it was only a matter of my mother and father not with the ability to hear.”
Being a particular educator, Nita realised the inaccessibility of sources that deaf kids typically confronted, a realisation that later served as her driving power to co-found Yunikee.
For Chaithanya, an IT skilled, it was watching his spouse Nita’s work ethic whereas she taught deaf children, which had a profound impression on him. So, after a 25-year-long stint within the company world, Chaithanya stop his job in 2020 to hitch Nita in creating the social impression platform.
Becoming a member of their imaginative and prescient was Rahul, an ISL instructor who had been working with Nita since 2017 educating deaf children in particular colleges. Being deaf, Rahul introduced distinctive insights to the desk on how they may formulate a platform that may cater to fixing some very important issues that the neighborhood was experiencing.
A dialog sparks an thought
It isn’t each day that three folks from very completely different walks of life bond over an thought. As Chaithanya, Nita and Rahul share the story of Yunikee’s inception, they’re nicely conscious of the unbelievable alignment of ideas, amongst different issues.
“It was because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Chaithanya. The trio was discussing the unfairness of the state of affairs — how abled college students had the privilege of constant their education on-line whereas college students with listening to disabilities have been denied this fundamental proper. They figured that this discrimination prolonged past the classroom.
“What if we have been to begin a platform that enabled listening to disabled folks to entry equal alternatives by way of jobs, skillset coaching and extra?” they thought.
“That’s the place it began,” Chaithanya shares. And there was no trying again.
“Yunikee is an precise phrase (in Telugu) that interprets to ‘I exist. Don’t ignore me.’” The explanation for this stark reminder is that, not like folks of different disabilities, deaf individuals can’t be recognized except one speaks to them, says Chaithanya.
He continues, “By means of Yunikee, we needed to convey an identification to them.”
Because the trio dived deeper into the undertaking, probably the most enthusiastic of them was Rahul. From private experiences, Rahul’s views have been cemented in the truth that the folks of his neighborhood weren’t given the appropriate instruments that they wanted to excel. He shares that there have been “near no studying platforms for deaf folks in any respect”.
Yunikee, he says, addresses this hole by empowering deaf adults to free themselves from the chokehold of dependency.
“We’re merely compelled to proceed our household enterprise due to a scarcity of choices within the job market. As somebody who would scour the job market on the lookout for jobs, and now as somebody who’s a part of an initiative that trains deaf folks to be adept at what they do, I’ve seen each ends of the spectrum,” Rahul says. “Yunikee allows us to be unbiased.”
Championing change via campaigns
Yunikee has prolonged its companies to over “50,000 deaf individuals” throughout India via the huge gamut of actions, initiatives and campaigns that it conducts.
Take, for example, the ‘Signal Medium’. Over “10,000 deaf adolescents” have been taught signal language via this programme, which began in 2020. Chaithanya recollects, “We ran a social media marketing campaign inviting these serious about studying ISL to register.”
The response from this initiative was so overwhelming that Yunikee now conducts over 120 completely different programs corresponding to inventory buying and selling, internet growth, IELTS and extra for his or her contributors immediately.
Dibyendu, alongside along with his mother and father, was a part of one in every of these workshops performed by Nita final yr. “It was a really good expertise to study signal language and have the ability to talk freely. Earlier, I used to be solely capable of do some gestures and was not capable of categorical myself freely. Now I can talk with my household and deaf associates,” he shares. The 25-year-old is now working within the internet growth sector and is extraordinarily completely happy along with his prospects.
What units Yunikee aside is that the impression is multi-faceted, extending past a single participant. For example, their ‘Champions League’ programme helps deaf folks seeking to begin ventures of their very own. By aiding them with workshops in signal language, finishing authorized formalities, and chartered accountancy companies, the crew ensures that they’re well-equipped with every thing they should know earlier than beginning their enterprise.
The primary cohort of the Champions League programme is ongoing, and Chaithanya shares that of the 9 enterprise ventures to this point, three startups are already up and working. One in all them is ‘Signal Ability Bridge’ based by Vishnu Prasath from Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
Sharing how the enterprise incubation programme helped him, he says he owes it to the networking he was capable of do prior to now three months. “I’ve been studying loads. Following step-by-step directions, I efficiently arrange the ‘Signal Ability Bridge’ as a centre.”
Encouraging others to additionally avail of it, Vishnu says that “the programme covers varied programs which have made start-up and enterprise institution accessible for the deaf neighborhood entrepreneurs for the primary time in India”.
He provides that he’s excited to see the way it unfolds.
Although Vishnu had the concept for ‘Signal Ability Bridge’ for years, he by no means had the arrogance to share it with the world as a result of communication limitations. However in 2022, a gathering with Yunikee opened him as much as the world of prospects.
At this time his studying centre empowers over 150 deaf individuals with its inclusive classroom the place programs corresponding to internet growth, 3D portray, graphic designing and extra are taught.
Vishnu’s story reminds Chaithanya of the super impression Yunikee has had on the folks they’ve labored with. “Each time I doubt if we’re on the appropriate path, I consider Vishnu’s story and see it as a reminder to maintain going.”
Making ready for all times – and extra
A novel facet of Yunikee’s work is the partnerships they conduct. One such undertaking in 2022 educated 10 deaf women in Pakistan in hairdressing and making use of make-up. These women then went on to arrange their particular person parlours, says Nita.
Whereas enabling deaf individuals to entry mainstream jobs is one pillar, the opposite is enabling them to entry what’s duly theirs. Yunikee has efficiently educated over 140 deaf folks to seem for presidency exams, out of which, 40 of them have secured jobs.
“Regardless of there being a one p.c reservation in authorities sectors for deaf folks, these positions typically go vacant because the candidates are unable to clear the exams,” Nita explains. “That’s the place we are available.”
Anil Mishra, who took the course final yr on banking utilizing signal language, is now working at a financial institution in Ahmedabad. He says the 9 months he spent studying have been value it and helped him clear the IBPS examination. “Whereas there was all the time a one p.c reservation for deaf folks in banks, we had no assist in studying and making ready for the exams.”
He provides the success of his credit score to Sagar, who is without doubt one of the 40 crew members at Yunikee who train, mentor and formulate these applications. “Sagar sir taught us all of the matters intimately enabling me to confidently take the examination which led to my choice.”
Nita shares that aside from her and Chaithanya, the crew of 40 includes deaf adults, every of whom brings in their very own experience and particular person insights that contribute to creating the platform a holistic studying area. “Being deaf themselves, they’ve lived experiences and have an understanding of what’s wanted,” she says.
Because the trio recounts a number of gratifying moments via Yunikee’s journey, their tales are tinged with a deep sense of satisfaction in addition to a necessity for advocacy. “There are nonetheless miles to go,” says Nita, echoing the ideas of the opposite two.
Edited by Padmashree Pande
