OPAD is imparting quality education to the deaf community of Pakistan. It is our aim to empower talented deaf people so that they can serve their country in a better way. For this purpose PAD has started a new project to help these talented deaf persons. It is our plan to send them to other institutions to obtain higher skills.

The top priority of Pakistan Association of the Deaf is “Quality Education”. Without quality education at primary level nothing can be achieved at higher level. At the present time, quality of education for the deaf is very poor; therefore these deaf cannot compete for higher education. There is totally NO opportunity in science, engineering, finance, IT or in any other field at higher level. B.A. is now being taught at institutions (compared to Visually Impaired and Physically challenged people, deaf are far behind). In case of poor quality primary education, deaf cannot achieve anything at higher level. This also results in lot of problems for deaf students in their future lives. Their educational degrees prove to be just piece of paper and nothing else when they go for interview, tests etc. This is very true that educating deaf children is really hard, it is not an easy work; it needs devotion, hard work, and long term planning. We at PAD are willing to launch a pilot project, a model school for the deaf where we will teach few deaf children with great concentration to prove that deaf children can learn at equal level as their non-deaf peers. Once we successfully achieve this goal with few children i.e. 10 children, we will arrange a teacher training program and disseminate all the information countrywide so that other schools (from govt. and private sector) can learn from our efforts and a better quality of education can be provided everywhere. At PAD, we imparted knowledge of Urdu grammar to some students. After assessment and evaluation it proved that our Deaf students can also learn Urdu grammar and other skills as other children can.

PAD is striving to provide students with latest facilities that could help them in their learning process. More and more deaf persons from Karachi as well as other cities of Pakistan are willing to join PAD for educational purposes but we don’t have sufficient place and equipment. PAD runs English Language training course, I.T. skills, Basic Literacy program and Sign Language Interpreter course and all these courses are taught by deaf teachers, volunteers and professionals. Please Donate for the up gradation of Deaf Empowerment & Education Center.

Deaf people use sign language as a mean of communication. Unfortunately, most of the population does not understand sign language. As a result, deaf people face problems to convey their message to general public and it also results in a miscommunication or ineffective communication. They face difficulties in a wide range of settings including medical, employment, education, legal settings etc. Interpreter is a person that serves as a bridge among deaf and hearing community. Therefore, it would be very beneficial to start a service that could help us to solve problems of Deaf community. PAD has decided to start “Interpreter Services for the Deaf (ISD)”. ISD will provide Sign to Urdu / English and Urdu / English to Sign interpreting and translation in a wide range of settings.

In Pakistan, deaf people are facing much difficulty because they don’t have the knowledge to utilize their skills as a leader. Therefore, PAD wants to empower these deaf persons and to impart leadership skills to them. In this connection, PAD’s plan is to invite two deaf persons from different cities of Pakistan and imparting leadership training to them. We have a problem of accommodation and we need financial support in this regard.

IThis program is designed for the students of universities, teachers and employees of different companies (public & private) etc. This program provides an opportunity for them to learn sign language and to work as a volunteer sign language interpreter so that they can put their share in the solution of problems that Deaf community of Pakistan is facing. To overcome the barrier of communication between hearing and deaf persons, mobile sign language interpreter training program should be started. Our main objective is to establish network of interpreters because interpreters serve as a bridge between hearing and deaf persons. The more the interpreters, it will be easier for the Deaf community to become an active part of the society. It will also help people to eliminate the barrier of communication between hearing and deaf employees within an organization or workplace. PAD has a policy to train hearing as well as deaf interpreters. Deaf interpreters work effectively to interpret sign language of other country to the sign language of local country and vice versa. PAD supports Deaf people in training them as interpreters. In Pakistan, there are 15 to 20 deaf interpreters. There are many Deaf people who work as interpreters in a range of settings. The World Federation of the Deaf has a policy that Deaf Interpreters are part of the team that provides the International Sign service at the WFD Congress.

Sport, activities and other recreational programs are necessary for the growth of a healthy mind and body. People do not have knowledge about the abilities of deaf persons. These types of activities can help us in bringing talented deaf persons in front of many people and to raise awareness among the people about them. They can prove to be an asset for our country. PAD has arranged these type of programs in past and the outcome was great. Members of PAD have participated in sports such as cricket and bowling and have won prizes. In 2005, Indian Deaf cricket team visited Pakistan. PAD arranged a friendly match with them. The aim of this match was to raise peace, love and friendship between India and Pakistan. PAD’s team won the match.

Deaf cooking and learning centre is working very well at PAD. Cooking classes are arranged for Deaf women at PAD on every Saturday. Knowledge about the accessories used in kitchen is also imparted to deaf women so that they would be able to purchase house hold items by themselves. Theoretical knowledge as well as practical knowledge about recipes is also given to them. Garnishing with the help of vegetables and fruits is also taught to them. This could help them in future as they can start supply of cooking items and can earn a handsome amount of profit. We are also planning to start baking classes in future. Pakistan Association of the Deaf always treats women on equal basis. Therefore, we feel ourselves responsible to give training of different courses to women because a deaf girl can win the hearts of her family by cooking delicious food and can also put her share to support her family without leaving her home. The main problem is of space. The kitchen’s measurement is only 6 feet. More and more deaf women want to take admission in cooking classes but we are unable to entertain them due to very less space.

The main idea of this project is to empower deaf women and to promote them to participate in different activities. This can be achieved by imparting them skills and knowledge about Flower making, embroidery, dress making etc. We also impart religious, ethical and moral values to women. United Nations has approved the rights of Disabled and these rights are being implemented in most countries of the world. Information about women rights is also disseminated to women. Therefore, we seek support for this project as it will enable women to have knowledge about their rights and to solve their problems on equal basis.

Deaf people are very good in sports activities especially cricket, bowling and athletics. There should be an academy to train deaf people about the rules and regulations of sports. In this way, they can perform much better.

Vocational training is also very necessary for Deaf persons. Vocational training helps them in getting job or work in future. We have seen many deaf that are working at their homes and earning a better living. Most of the women in rural areas are working in the field of embroidery and tailoring. Vocational training includes training of computer, fine art, computer hardware, engineering, embroidery, tailoring etc.

Quality of Deaf education is questionable in Pakistan. There are many deaf schools but teachers do not know about teaching procedure. Many children come to us for English language and computer training because even after passing graduation they do not have sufficient knowledge about English and computers. Therefore, PAD has a program to teach teachers of the deaf and their parents. Most of the parents of deaf children do not know sign language and as a result they are unable to communicate effectively with their children. After learning sign language, they can effectively communicate with their children and can also help them in their studies.

This project is about supporting Deaf community in terms of medical check up and medicines. Most of the poor deaf persons don’t have enough resources to protect themselves and their families from diseases. Many deaf persons come to PAD for medical support. We are trying our best to support them but we need more support for our project from generous people / companies who can support us either by donating some generous amount or by offering free services and medicines.

Sign Language is the language of Deaf. Deaf people use it as a mode of communication. United Nations has approved the use of sign language and stated this as a right of Deaf community. Research and development of Sign Language is very necessary. Deaf people from rural areas do not have the sufficient knowledge of sign language and as a result they face difficulty in communication with deaf people from other areas as well as problems in education. PAD has always emphasized on Sign language research and development and for this a research and development group is working at PAD. PAD has published five sign language books including Urdu grammar for deaf in sign language (Mr. Irfan Mumtaz; current President of Pakistan Association of the Deaf was the one to take this initiative for the first time in Pakistan). We also published Pakistan Sign Language CD in collaboration with IUCN.

Deaf people from rural areas of Pakistan are lacking many facilities. To promote rural deaf community PAD has started a project. Through this project we support persons from rural areas in terms of education, health facilities and others.

There are many non-deaf students who go abroad for higher education but deaf persons do not have enough opportunities. Some of our members are very talented and willing to upgrade their studies in the field of IT, community development, graphic designing and other fields. In USA, Gallaudet University offers such opportunities for the deaf. PAD has a scholarship fund for higher education. Either you can give us generous donation for this purpose or you can offer scholarship for the deaf from your company of individually for 1 to 4 years.

PAD is a member of World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), Asia – Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD) and others. We collaborate with different associations and organizations worldwide from time to time. The main purpose is to gather information and find out ways to empower Deaf community of Pakistan. The information that we get from these organizations is disseminated to our members through seminars and functions. We share this information with our associate members which are present all over Pakistan during our annual meetings.

PInformation technology is getting popularity day by day. PAD recognizes I.T. education as the basic need in view of the present day trends and requirements. PAD has established a computer centre at its premises and is working to help other deaf organizations all over Pakistan to establish new centers. This will enable deaf community to get them updated.

(Electronic, T.V & Press) Dissemination of information about Deaf community is very necessary to raise the awareness among people about the problems of deaf community. New channels should be started or the channels working should be asked to start programs for the Deaf. Most people from rural areas do not have the knowledge about problems of Deaf community. In United States and some other developed countries, newspapers, magazines and T.V. stations are present. Deaf persons themselves handle this system. If some company supports us then we will start work at basic level. Afterwards, we will spread this project.

Small business scheme is an initiative to provide Deaf people with employment opportunities. The basic aim is to support deaf persons financially so that they could start their own business and earn a better living. Once their business is settled, they will have to repay the amount granted to them and this amount will be utilized in setting business for another deaf.

Poverty is also a main problem that most people of our country are facing. People do not have the access to resources to fulfill their basic needs. Unemployment is also causing the problem of poverty. Government has allocated 2 % quota for Deaf people in public and private sector but this quota has not strictly been followed. We are working our best on human development and to support needy deaf people. We help them through our fund regarding food, medical care, education, clothing, house rent and other services.

Seminars and workshops are arranged from time to time on different matters to raise awareness among deaf persons. PAD has arranged seminars on different issues like driving license for the Deaf, better environment, Aids day, web accessibility, information accessibility, marriage related affairs and interpreter services for the deaf etc. National Annual convention program is also a part of our activities. Till now three annual meetings have been arranged. First was in Karachi, Second in Sargodha and Third in Bahawalpur. We are planning for the fourth meeting which will be held in Hasilpur in March 2009. Through these meeting we get a chance to get knowledge about deaf community of different areas of Pakistan. This helps us in taking correct measures in the solution of their problems.

Deaf clubs and organizations serve as a platform for deaf community to share ideas, information, views and projects. In Pakistan, most of the Deaf organizations communicate with each other through mail or courier as they do not have the email or websites of their organization. The reason for this is lack of education and skills required to carry out these operations. PAD as a national level organization and a representative of deaf community of Pakistan feels to promote these organizations and to help them in communicating with other organizations and the world. Therefore, PAD has started a project to build their websites so that information related to the organization could be easily accessed from anywhere in the world. We need financial support for this project as we will have to hire a web professional to work on this project. Domain registration charges and webhosting charges will also be required for the project.

Most people of Pakistan do not have the knowledge about deaf persons and their problems. The reason for this is lack of awareness among the people. Some parents of the deaf do not want to show their children to other people as they do not have awareness about the rights of deaf people. Deaf blind persons are present in Pakistan but their exact number is not known. Deaf blind schools and organizations are working very well in most of the developed countries of the world. But, in Pakistan, no school or organization exists for deaf blind people. Therefore, their parents hide them in their homes. This results in isolation of these children and psychological problems. PAD wants to gather data about these children but it is a difficult task. To achieve this task, we need funding for advertising on TV and newspapers. It is hope that after successful implementation of this campaign, positive results would be achieved. PAD will think about starting project for deaf blind people or will help government in setting school or center for these people. In Ramadan, PAD helps and supports deaf persons by giving them ration and financial support. Many deaf persons turn to PAD to get this support but there are still many needy deaf persons who can’t avail this facility because they don’t get the knowledge. If an advertisement campaign is run on TV channels, news papers and hoardings etc. then a larger number of people will be able to get this information. We need fund for advertisement and aware people about the problems of deaf community.