Panchkula, December 18
An innovative and unique cafeacute; by the name of ‘Dafeacute;teria’ has been opened at Haryana Welfare Society for Persons with Speech and Hearing Impairment (HWSPSHI) in Sector 16 here.
Dafeacute;teria was inaugurated today by Dr Sharanjeet Kaur, chairperson, HWSPSHI, in the presence of Mahavir Kaushik, Deputy Commissioner; Prof Rajbir Singh, Vice-Chancellor, MDU, Rohtak; and Dr Alka Rao, Principal Scientist, CSIR-India. HWSPSHI has been working for the education and empowerment of deaf students since 1971 and has eight centres in Haryana.
Padmajai, an active volunteer of the society, ideated a cafeacute; dedicated to empowering the deaf community and enabling them with a sense of pride in entrepreneurship, taking front line jobs, and being self-reliant. She has been associated with the deaf community since her childhood, having grown up watching her mother, Dr Sharanjeet Kaur, chairperson, HWSPSHI, and father, Prof Rajbir Singh, Vice-Chancellor, MDU, Rohtak, passionately involved in the uplift of differently abled people.
Dr Sharanjeet has touched thousands of lives of deaf people through her unique initiatives in the past five years such as “Early Intervention Project”, “Digital Sign Language Lab”, “Deaf Hunar” and “ISL Club”.
DC Mahavir Kaushik appreciated the efforts made by Dr Kaur in creating a more inclusive space. He also mentioned that he would try to keep the promises made during the last visit related to need for a school till Class 12 for deaf students in Panchkula district as well as a hostel for trainees of the RCI-approved courses.
Prof Rajbir Singh, Vice-Chancellor, MDU, Rohtak, shared his bond of 30 years with the organisation and lauded its passion.
Dr Alka, who has been instrumental in making science learning accessible to the deaf community in India through various projects, shared that there was a need for such a space in this institute. Now, it would be a happening place for riveting discussions with experts from various fields.
