Bridging the gap – Giving talking hands a voice!

Given the staggering number of Pakistan’s populace that is deprived of life’s basic necessities and adding to it the power elite’s deep slumber over these issues, those thinking of the predicament of the Deaf community, let alone working to mitigate it, may not come as anything less than a pleasurable surprise to us.
However, if the persistent efforts and exceptional facilities being provided to deaf people in Pakistan by the Deaf Reach Program, a project of Family Educational Services Foundation (FESF) since 1984, do not seem enough for the country to recognise its endeavours, it should bow down to it in appreciation for bringing Pakistan the global recognition of being one of the few countries to have its own digital visual lexicon – especially one that comprises 5,000 words.
The work on the project titled “Pakistan Sign Language Digital Resources” (PSL) was initially started in 2011 but further materialised in 2013 after FESF collaborated with Ilm Ideas, a project of UKAID.
A PSL book, containing 1,000 basic words, essential for routine communication with the Deaf, along with a 5,000 word Web portal and DVD was launched in November 2014 after intense hard work spanning a period of 18 months.
Earlier methods of using flashcards to teach sign language were cumbersome, and also time consuming to create the cards. But now that PSL is in digital format, it provides open and easy access to both teachers and students – making learning fun and interactive.
The visual lexicon developed by a group of sign language experts – mainly seven deaf persons and one hearing person - was not only produced in the Urdu and English languages but was also translated in the PSL Book into the country’s four basic regional languages: Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto and Balochi.
With a focus on making it easier to access for people belonging to all walks of life, the lexicon is not only made available on Web Portal at www.PSL.org.pk, but can also be accessed through a mobile phone application downloadable free of cost from that same site.
And if all of that was not enough, it was also physically distributed, free of charge, all across Pakistan by two deaf ambassadors of the school, Ali Noonari and Junaid Waris; the former currently serving as the regional head of the Deaf Reach School network while the latter is the principal of the school’s Sukkur campus.
FESF Administration Director Aaron Awasen, while sharing his thoughts with respect to the project, said the idea to develop the lexicon had been around since the first school was set up as there were only a handful of books on sign language available in Pakistan, which were also not very comprehensive.
Upwards of 50% of the words in the lexicon had to be created to cover needed academic vocabulary. Awasen said the level of expertise needed for that was huge since the signs had to be adapted in accordance with the socio-cultural variations, also adding that the activity was the most amusing part of the whole project.

Who benefits?
Sign Language is the “native tongue” of the Deaf community, and the basis of communication of the Deaf with the Hearing. It is interesting to note that over 90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents, and thus bridging the communication gap is essential. The PSL project was conceived with an aim to get the lexicon inculcated in the country’s educational curriculum so as to introduce it to hearing students, teachers, and parents as well as employers.
The inclusion, according to Awasen, will provide the community with equal personal and professional growth opportunities from which the Deaf are often excluded; consequently diminishing the negative implications attached with hearing impairment.
Towards this end, the FESF management also held policy dialogue meetings with the relevant ministers in each province.
It was precisely the idea behind the extensive efforts to have the lexicon distributed countrywide. The Deaf Reach Schools network collaborated with provincial agencies as well as Deaf communities and successfully delivered over 16,000 PSL Books and DVDs to the more than 115 schools and centres, including clubs and private institutes, in over 60 cities nationwide.
“It was heartening to know that a private school in Swabi sent their representative all the way to Peshawar to meet with our ambassadors to get hold of copies of the PSL book and DVD,” said Awasen while referring to the feedback received about the PSL resources.
To add to that rewarding experience, others have given their support. The vice chancellor of the University of Punjab, one of the leading varsities of the country, expressed his wish to set up a department dedicated to teaching sign language at the premises.
The Sindh education minister also voiced his desire to make the PSL resources available to the more than 5,000 provincial educational institutes.
The lexicon has also proved helpful for other children with communication challenges, such as those with autism, Down’s syndrome, and cerebral palsy, providing them with an easier mode of communication, said Awasen.

Future plans
This unique achievement of FESF is now set to be presented at the upcoming World Federation of the Deaf Congress, held every four years, and scheduled for July this year in Istanbul.
FESF has been invited to make a presentation and share about the success and impact of this noteworthy project, and how it can be used as a model for Deaf education in other developing countries.
Furthering their work, the organisation is also in the process of developing “PSL Sign-ed Stories” – animated and colourfully illustrated stories which will facilitate early reading skills for deaf children – and that could rightly be labelled as a revolution of sorts compared to previously used teaching strategies.
Three sign language courses have also been designed, PSL Basic for beginners, PSL for Parents, and a PSL Master Course, to increase the teaching abilities of the master trainers.
Soon after its launch, the PSL Resources managed to bag the prestigious Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) ICT Award, in November 2014, and then went on to compete in the Asia-Pacific ICT Award (APICTA) in Jakarta in December, 2014.
Pakistan can be proud to add this “new language” to its list of dialects. The global recognition which the project has received has been very positive and a rewarding conclusion to the efforts FESF has invested to improve the quality of life for the Deaf, and via the PSL Resources, to give them a voice.
A Note To Readers
This is the third in our series of articles on the Deaf Reach school network.
Deaf Reach was one of several remarkable projects
considered by The News for extensive coverage, with the sheer scope of their mission and their work with one of the most marginalised communities of Pakistan,
making them our ultimate choice.
Now, this is us doing our bit to further a noble cause.
If you want to help out in any way, please contact at info@FESF.org.pk or visit
www.fesf.org.pk/make-a-donation