How often do you see a differently-abled person working at a mainstream job near you? Chances are, your next billing or retail executive at any of the major malls in Noida may be hearing or speech impaired. Over 30 deaf and mute students of the Noida Deaf Society (NDS) have been employed at various retail and food and beverage outlets in DLF Mall of India and Great India Place in Noida in the past three years, which was hardly the case five years ago. According to the founder of NDS, the job sector in Noida has become more inclusive towards differently-abled people over the past few years. NDS is a non-profit organization which makes its deaf and mute students capable of bagging mainstream jobs by giving them vocational training and skill development courses. “There has been a big shift in the mentality of those hiring for corporates and retail offices. People have become more inclusive. Companies now want to explore and recruit our students,” says Ruma Roka, founder and general secretary, NDS.With its center based in Noida, the society has helped over 2,000 deaf and mute students get employment across hospitality, IT, manufacturing and retail, not just in Noida, but in other parts of the country as well. The organization started in 2005 out of a two-bedroom flat in Sector 29, and today has transformed into a three-storey building located in Sector 117. It has centers in Delhi, Gurgaon and Jaipur too, with over 500 students enrolled in a year. According to the students at NDS, they got a new lease of life after being a part of the organisation, in contrast to earlier, when they were not understood by their own families. “The teacher at my school in Ghaziabad did not explain anything to us in sign language as she herself was not differently-abled. All my life, I felt frustrated for not being able to express myself to my friends and family. After I passed out of school, I got to know about NDS through Facebook. I was taught ISL (Indian Sign Language), English and Computers there. Currently, I am learning more about hospitality,” says Parag (through an interpreter), a 19-year-old student at NDS from Ghaziabad.A student learning how to fix mobile phonesIn fact, without any proper training or skill enhancement, odd jobs would be offered to the hearing and speech impaired where they had more chances of getting exploited. Sachin, 30, had been employed at an organization for three years where his job was to sort mails. After getting proper training at NDS, he is now working at the Shangri-La hotel in Delhi in the housekeeping department. “My father was an autorickshaw driver in Delhi and I left school after class X to support him. After much effort, I got a job to sort mails but also used to do odd jobs. Even after three years, my wages had not increased. I got to know about NDS through a friend, and the rest is history,” he says.The widespread use of social media and mobiles has further helped those from the deaf and mute community to know about NDS. “When we started in 2005, people only got to know about us through word of mouth. However, in the past five years, the use of social media has helped persons with hearing and speech impairment reach out to us from all over the country,” says Manish Shukla, programme manager at NDS. The trainers and teachers at NDS are themselves deaf and mute, which makes it easier for the pupil to establish a connect with them and train them better. Most of them are alumni from NDS itself. “There is a lot of insecurity and low confidence among children when they come here. If they see a person who is not differently-abled even smiling, they would think they are making fun of them. Since we are ourselves deaf and mute, we are able to befriend the students and relate to them. Training and teaching, as a result, become easier,” says Shailendra, who teaches Hospitality at NDS.Niharika, Human Resources Executive at Radisson Hotel, Noida, where three people from NDS are currently working, says, “The candidates hired from NDS are more efficient than other employees as their focus is completely on work. Once we picked up the sign language and communication became feasible, the reciprocation has been very good.” Moreover, companies have been coming back to NDS to recruit more people. Spark Minda, an auto component manufacturing firm based in Greater Noida, has hired over 20 deaf and mute candidates from NDS. “We have been hiring from NDS for about two years now and the response has been very good. They are disciplined, devoted and enthusiastic towards their work,” says Jitendra, Human Resources Manager at Sparks Minda, Greater Noida.Students of Noida Deaf Society getting trained for different fields

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