Speech and hearing impaired Arvind Kadhane harboured a strong desire to be independent and fulfill his dreams. These began to turn into reality when he was hired as a fashion associate at Pantaloons. Arvind believes in going the extra mile when it comes to his job and he has been recognized for his effort. Like the time he assisted a client with two kids right from when she walked in to the store till the end of the purchase, helping out with sizes, carrying the clothes, making suggestions and ensuring a smooth experience. His efforts resulted in him wining the ‘Fashion Associate Star’ award for the month, impressing his customers, associates and managers.

Viral is 28 years old and belongs to a lower economic class family. He belongs to Sabarmati, Ahmadabad. He was diagnosed with Speech and Hearing Impairment. His father- Mr. Chaitanay Khamar expired 15 years ago. From then, his mother- Dharmisthu Ben Khamar takes care of the family expenditure from the pension she gets. Viral got married 1 year ago. His elder brother is also married, who works in a mill but didn’t contribute to the family expenditure and lives separately. Viral has successfully completed his secondary school examination in English medium. After marriage, Viral started feeling very depressed as he was not able to contribute anything to his family and now after marriage also he and his wife are dependent on his mother’s pension. He was very worried and skeptic about himself and his family’s future. Then he got to know about Sai Swayam Society and approached Ahmadabad office. He was quite impressed after getting to know about the program run by SSS. He joined the Ahmadabad center with a hope of getting a good job. He showed keen interest and enthusiasm during the training period. Because of his interest and commitment to work coupled with the skills he got during the training, he got placed in Mc Donald, Ahmadabad as a Trainee Crew Member. He is currently drawing a handsome salary of Rs. 8,000/month. He is very happy that he is now working and apart from taking care of the family, he is also able to save. He is a perfect example and role model for the speech and hearing impaired community, who aspire to do something in their life.

Diagnosed with polio at the age of 3, Gavi was given up by her parents and raised by her maternal grandmother till she was in the 7 th grade. When her grandmother passed away, it looked like there was no light at the end of the tunnel. Her father took her back home to financial troubles and family burdens. But Gavi picked herself up and kept moving forward. She took a loan to pay her father back for her education and to fund her own BA degree. After this, she needed to find a job. She was skeptical about being accepted into a role with her disability but gained confidence after training at the Pankh – Alamba campus. Her efforts were rewarded when she got a job as a cashier at Jubilant Group’s Total Mall, which was later taken over by More Megamart. Gavi has since won awards like ‘Best Cashier’ and ‘Employee of the Month,’ funded a big part of her sister’s wedding and had a successful orthopedic surgery that has enabled her to walk with calipers instead of crutches.

Mahdev Hanmante is a 22 year old deaf boy from a small village from Latur district in Maharashtra. His father works in as a painter whenever he got contract in his local area & his mother is a housewife. His younger brothers are studying. Somehow he has managed to complete his 12 th & couldn’t pursue further due to his poor economic condition of his family. The annual income of his family was Rs.30,000. He was struggling to get a job but couldn’t find one because of his disability. He finds his disability a big barrier & got sad by himself. While a meeting with his friends in Latur, he came to know about Pankh training program and wanted to come and learn at the institute but did not have the money to come to Mumbai. Some of his friends contributed money and some he gathered from his savings and came to Mumbai. In Mumbai, he stayed in Nallasopara, sharing a room with his co-students. Mahadev joined Pankh Santacruz Centre & successfully completed 45days training. He said, “Pankh training helped me a lot to increase my confident, gave me my identity which I have lost earlier & taught to believe in myself.” After completing the training he immediately got job in Future Group & started working in Big Bazaar, Dahisar Store. Mahadev is working as a Team Member and earning RS.10,000 per month. He has successfully completed a year in the organization. His Team Leader Mr. Pandurang Jaybhaye said “Mahadev is very excellent in his work. He is very active & understands customer needs very well. Being a deaf person he understands everything. So we all are very happy to have him as a part of our team. He is capable as any other employee in organisation and motivates others.” Mahadev is very happy with his work, work place & colleagues. He is taking care of his family & his both the brother’s education. His parents are proud of him. He said “he doesn’t have family and so the Pankh institute members are like his family as they have given him a means of sustenance. He is thankful to Pankh for guidance & Big Bazaar for giving opportunity to prove himself.

Manjula.M.Talwar was born and brought up in Neeralkere Village, Bagalkot District of Karnataka. She lost both her parents at the tender age of 8. Diagnosed with polio on her left leg, she struggled to walk and sadly, her parents too didn’t pay much attention to her since she was a girl child. She currently lives with her two siblings. Her older brother works as a construction labourer and her younger brother has just completed his 10 th standard. The family had been surviving only on her brother’s income and they struggled to make ends meet. However, her current situation did not deter her but only made her stronger. With great effort, she completed her 2 nd PUC in a government college and in the midst of looking for a job, she came across the Pankh training program. She decided to undergo the training in the hope of securing a job and a better future. Post completion of her training, she wished for a job close to home, and with the help of Pankh’s local NGO partner, Reach, her profile was shared with the Gram Panchayat. She was selected for the post of VRW (Village Rehabilitation Worker) and now earns a salary of Rs.3,000 per month. Manjula is independent in more way than one- she can comfortably sit in the office and work, is financially independent and is taking care of her family needs along with her older brother. She is hopeful of becoming a manager in a big company some day and getting her brothers married. She believes that without the support of Pankh and Reach, her dream would have been remained unfulfilled. She is grateful for the opportunity.

Rahimbi Pathan is a 24 year old deaf girl. She has completed her HSC. After her wedding in 2016 she moved to a small village in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. Rahimbi is a girl who wanted to be an independent girl & never wanted to depend on others. But due to her parents bad health issues she has to get married & settled in her family. Before her marriage she wanted to join Pankh training & earn for her family but couldn’t able to join so. After her marriage, she somehow managed to convince her in laws & husband about Pankh training & the opportunity. Her husband is also a deaf person, they both came to Mumbai and joined Pankh Santacruz Center & successfully completed 45 days training . After completing the training she got job in Reliance Trends Borivali Store. Rahimbi is working as a Customer Service Associate. She is very happy with her work. Her colleagues and manager are also very happy to have her as a part of their team. Rahimbi is now very happy. Rahimbi says that “I am very happy with Pankh because after training I got a very good job as I have desired. I can now see myself growing & becoming independent. Now me and my family are very happy with my work, work place & colleagues.” Rahimbi & her family appreciated about Pankh & all Pankh team. They are thankful to Pankh for guidance & Reliance Trends for giving a wonderful opportunity. Her manager Mr. Juned Shaikh said that “Rahimbi is very excellent, hardworking and punctual at her work. She always keeps a smile on her face. She completes the given tasks in timeline and her understanding of customers is better than others and motivates others. I am very happy to have Rahimbi in my team.”

Rahul Tormal is a 22 year old deaf boy from a small village in Buldhana, Maharashtra. He belongs to a very poor family. He has 6 members in his family. His father is also a physically challenged person who used to work in farm. His mother is a housewife and three sisters are married. After many unsuccessful attempts to get a job made him works in farms as a labour whenever he got call. Rahul suffers a lot of financial issues for completing his 10 th studies. He used to work in farms with his father & earn some money for his family for day to day expenses. After his father’s physical disability, he used to work in farms alone but which was not on regular basis. He was the sole earner for his family that time. He was struggling to get a job on regular basis. Rahul came to know about Pankh through his deaf friends and then he joined Pankh Santacruz Centre. He successfully completed 45 days training in February 2017 and got placed with Dmart, Mira Road Store in Mumbai. Now Rahul works as a Sales Associate & earning salary of Rs. 9000/-PM. His Manager and his colleagues are happy with his work. His HR Manager Ms. Dhanashree said “Rahul works in a Non- Core Department. He is very excellent in work, creative and extremely dedicated & sincere, very much motivated & punctual at work. He looks always happy & cheerful. He understands people very well. They are thankful to Pankh for giving them Rahul as a part of their team.” Rahul & his family are very grateful of Pankh for the opportunity he got from them to overcome his abilities & prove himself to be independent & successful in life. Rahul says that “I am very happy with my job & supporting my family financially. I am sending money to my parents to fulfil their basic needs & for my father’s medicines. I want to grow in my career, complete my higher studies & earn money so that I can bring my parents to Mumbai & take care of them by staying with them together. I thanks Pradeep sir for the guidance & kind support which he is giving me always, without his support nothing would have been possible. I thank Pankh & Dmart for giving me this opportunity.”

Rahul, born on 14 Jan, 1991 is 26 years old. His native place is Rewari, Haryana. He is the only deaf in the family. His father is a government servant in railway and his mother is a housewife. He has 4 sisters, who are married and 1 brother who has his own business in Chandigarh. He belongs to a financially strong family but the family is not supportive at all. He was supported by his Uncle. He has completed his secondary school examination. He desires to have a job and live an independent life, where he does not have to ask for money from someone. But after trying a lot he was not able to get a suitable job as he does not possess any technical skill. His uncle came to know from one of his contacts about Sai Swayam Sociey. He enquired about SSS and enrolled Rahul in SSS’s Gurugram center, where Rahul acquired the skills required to get a good job. Rahul is a good observer and quick learner. He loves to explore and learn new things. After the training completed, Rahul got placed in Vishal Mega Mart’s Gurugram center as a Customer Support Associate. He is earning a salary of Rs. 8500/month. He has successfully completed 4 months there. Staff members are very happy with his behavior and performance. He set an example for others that if a person is self determined he can achieve whatever he wants. He is an inspiration and motivation for other deaf individuals who are going through hardships.

Swapna Sonkatale belongs to Solapur, a small city located in Maharashtra. Soon after completing her 10 th standard, she returned to her village as her mother believed she had reached a marriageable age . In the pursuit of finding the right marriage proposal, Swapna spent an entire year at home. During this period, she came across her senior who works as a trainer at Pankh. With an interest to know more, Swapna travelled to Pune with her friend and her mother. After visiting the center and the program, she was convinced of the opportunity that lay before her. This led her to take up the Pankh 45 day training program. She enrolled for a class which was an all-girls batch with 19 other determined women like her. The program fuelled her with such confidence that on women’s day, she and her classmates performed a skit on savitri bai phule. Her efforts were rewarded when she was hired at Reliance Fresh as a sales associate post her training.

Speech and Hearing impaired Varsha Pawar harboured a strong desire to be independent and fulfil her dreams. So did her sister, who is also born deaf. They both live with their parents and an older brother in Pune. Constantly worried about their future, Varsha’s parents never encouraged their daughters to step out and make themselves capable of applying for a job. However, one day, on a shopping visit to D-Mart, Varsha’s father and sister noticed a speech and hearing impaired employee working at D-Mart. Through their conversation, the employee informed them about Pankh and the employment linked retail training offered. This drew their attention and accompanied by her family, Varsha visited the Pankh center. There she was introduced to the program and noticed that the curriculum was taught by a deaf trainer. She immediately joined the program and there was no looking back. Varsha is now working at Star Bazaar as a sales associate, in a job role that has made her financially independent. She enjoys her work and feels very active. Her parents are very proud of her achievement and hope that more people like Varsha are given an equal opportunity to fulfil their dreams.