Joy of Sound

Global Grant Project 

On, 11th June, we rolled out our very ambitious, $66000, Global Grant Project called the Joy of Sound. This project, in association with theRotary Club of Strathcona Sunrise-Courteney, will work towards changing the way the hearing impaired child is educated through the use of smart classrooms. Under the project, we will be supporting 2 schools for the hearing impaired, the MGR School for the Deaf and The MJC-Guild of Service School for the Deaf.

The club will work with the schools to:
1. Develop smart classroom content for classes 5,6,7,8,9, and 11. This is being achieved by training and enabling the special skill teachers to transform physical content into electronic medium.
2. Provide smart classroom infrastructure for 3 classes each at both the schools
3. Provide hearing aids to the children in the school.
4. With the support of Clearwater Technologies, provide Shoebox Audiometry testing application, that any teacher can use to carryout screening of the children and track their hearing progress.
3. Screen and identify children with hearing disability by holding screening camps in the schools.
4. Admitting children from the identified set and educating them in these schools.

20 teachers underwent training on computer and Powerpoint skills at the MGR Janaki Arts and Science College. This army of teachers, lead by the very committed and able, Mrs. Sarawathi will drive us to our goal. Many thanks to all for volunteering to take up this cause. It is a challenge and will require each of these teachers to put in many many hours of extra work to make this project a success. But I believe that each one who takes up the cause of teaching a special child, has already made that commitment and is driven to make a difference to the lives of these children they teach. While each teacher is a blessed and honoured being, the ones who teach children with disabilities, are on the top.

Special thanks to the selfless dedication of Mrs. Saraswati, our Lead Coach and Trainer (she has given her life for teaching the hearing impaired), Rtn. Mrs. Latha Rajendran of the MGR School and Mrs. Rani Gulrajani of the GOS School, for partnering with RCCK.

Many thanks to Rtn. Chip Ross and Rtn. Mike Pontus from our partner club, RC Strathcona Sunrise for helping make this project a reality. Thanks also to 3230 DG, Raju, 3230 Rotary Foundation Chair, Muthupalaniappan Shanmugama and Rtn. Jennifer Berg of the RI Global Grants team, for helping with the grant approval.

Most of all, thanks to all members of RCCK, especially Hari Ratan for his guidance, Ravi Krishnan for helping and doing all the work on the application, Mita Gorsia Venkatraman, Ravindran, Sanjay Agarwal, Ravikant Choudhry and Kalpana for being there at the inauguration of the event, and everyone else for always being there.

Small beginning and many miles to go. Happy that the trip has started.

Pres. Sanjay Agarwal on the right.