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Call us + 650 520 3204

 

Projects – The Adarsh School for Deaf Children

Empowering Punjab’s hearing impared children with access to schooling, skills training, and life-changing village outreach support.

Location & History:

The Pingalwara Outreach Program operates across multiple districts of Punjab, with its headquarters in Amritsar. While the formal outreach initiative began in 2016, Home of Hope’s support for Pingalwara extends back more than a decade earlier, reflecting a long-standing commitment to the education and upliftment of deaf children in rural Punjab.

Core Focus of the Project:

The program was created to address the critical shortage of accessible education for deaf children across the state. Its main objectives are:

  • Identifying out-of-school deaf children and enrolling them in suitable educational programs.
  • Providing meaningful vocational training for deaf youth through close collaboration with ITIs.

Current Landscape (Based on 2011 Census)

Punjab has thousands of children with speech and hearing disabilities, yet only a fraction benefit from appropriate schooling:
  • 248 children currently enrolled in Pingalwara-run schools across five districts
  • Many districts continue to lack any specialized school for deaf children

The Outreach Program works to bridge this wide and persistent gap.

HOH Partnership: When & Why

HOH began supporting the Outreach Program in 2016, responding to an urgent state-wide need for a structured initiative that could actively locate and support deaf children who were falling through the cracks of the system.

At the time, no other program in Punjab was addressing this gap. HOH’s partnership enabled Pingalwara to build an organized, village-level outreach model that counselled families, raised awareness, and guided children into proper educational pathways.

Impact of HOH Support

HOH support has been instrumental in expanding the scale, reach, and quality of the program.

Village Outreach
  • 132 villages personally visited and counselled across multiple districts
Program Achievements
  1. Increase in Schools:

    The number of specialized deaf schools has grown to five.

  2. Enrollment Growth:

    Student enrollment in outreach schools has risen from 7 students (2016) to 105 students today, despite significant challenges in awareness and acceptance among families.

  3. Vocational Training Success:

    After eight years of dedicated effort, the team has successfully established separate vocational training programs for deaf youth—an important milestone for long-term empowerment.

Vision for the Next Five Years

Punjab still has more than 32,000 school-age deaf children, with many districts yet to receive structured outreach. The program aims to:
  • Expand outreach to all remaining districts, starting with Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, SBS Nagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Muktsar, Faridkot, Mansa, SAS Nagar, and Sangrur.
  • Distribute foundational books on deaf education to every village; digital versions will be available free on www.islpro.org by December 7, 2025.
  • Strengthen vocational pathways, adding ITI-based courses such as Electrician and Carpenter.
  • Increase enrollment across all Pingalwara schools through expanded awareness and online academic support from Manawala.
  • Work toward government collaboration, ensuring qualified teachers and better integration of deaf students in public schools.

Reports from the Project

2023
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Current Outreach Centres

  • Started: 2005 with 6 students; now 165 students & 23 teachers
  • Improvements: Better internet has strengthened outreach teaching
  • Online Classes Provided To:
    • Moga: 3 classes/day
    • Hoshiarpur: 1 class/day
    • Sarhali: 1 class/day
    • Ferozepur: 1 class/day
MANAWALA (Main Campus)
  • Started: May 2025
  • Enrollment: 20 registered; 6 attending regularly
  • Outreach: Visits to 7 villages—no improvement yet
  • Staffing: Untrained deaf teacher currently managing; will undergo 1-month training at Manawala
  • Challenge: Parent reluctance despite lack of any deaf school in the district
  • Next Steps: Seeking help from other NGOs to improve awareness and trust.
MOGA
  • Started: 2016
  • Location: Village Kakkon, 15 km from Ferozepur
  • Infrastructure: Land and building owned by Pingalwara
  • Status: Only deaf school in the district
  • Main Issue: Transportation limits attendance
    • Students: 8 from Zira, 11 from Ferozepur, others from nearby villages
    • Transport cost: ₹30,000/month
    • Current funds: ₹15,000 (parents) + ₹5,000 (HOH)
    • Shortfall: ₹10,000/month
  • Impact: Dedicated transport would increase enrollment significantly.
FEROZEPUR
  • Started: 2018
  • Unique Role: Only deaf school in the district; fully funded by HOH
  • Support: Accommodation & transport from Guru Gobind Singh College for Girls
  • Challenges: Limited to ~190 school days/year due to college holidays
  • Recognition: Strong district-level support; government schools refer students here
  • Vocational Plan: Start ITI-based training for deaf girls; one deaf teacher will undergo stitching training.
SARHALI (Tarn Taran)
  • Started: April 9, 2018
  • Location: Village Kakkon, 5 km from Hoshiarpur
  • Support: Sh. Roshan Chhabra (USA) + HOH (₹15,000/month)
  • Focus: Free education for deaf children
  • Vocational Training: Plumbing course with 7 students; electrician course planned
  • Future Vision: Develop into a leading vocational training centre for deaf students in Punjab.
HOSHIARPUR

About Us

Home of Hope is a grass root non profit founded by Dr. Nilima Sabharwal in 1999. Home of Hope provides educational opportunities to empower disadvantaged and underprivileged youth to become self-sustaining adults of tomorrow.

Call us +650 520 3204
Visit us 1177 California Street #1424 San Francisco CA 94108
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