Bilal Chinoy

Bilal Chinoy is a charismatic, creative and vibrant role model, who has the ability to instantly impress and connect with a cheering crowd of deaf students with his stock of stimulating stories and discussions. Bilal works as the Multimedia Designer in Gallaudet University's Office of Communications and Public Relations and an Adjunct Professor for Web Design. The focus of his job is to make the stories on Gallaudet University's website come alive by designing visuals. With the power of 'chai' (tea) in his veins and a love of adventure, Mr. Chinoy finds himself recharged by biking, trekking, running and traveling. He is a step closer to achieving his dream of bridging the gap between education and employability of Deaf youth in India by co-founding Young Achievers, an organization that aims to provide quality bilingual Deaf educational services.

Bilal was born Deaf in Mumbai, India.  Because his parents and brother were also Deaf, he didn’t see being Deaf as something negative or shameful.  Rather, it was something that made him happy because it meant that his immediate family as well as some aunts, uncles and cousins shared sign language as their native language.  From this common ground grew a very strong sense of connection.

Even his home in Mumbai was designed to be a “Deaf friendly” space.  He elaborates : "Instead of a regular doorbell, we had lights in each room to alert us in case of visitors at the door, which would stay lit till someone opened the door. This is just one example of the many accessible designs my father created in our home, which I remember as being a very positive environment to grow up in, essentially communicating through light rather than sound. "

Bilal treasures his childhood memories - "Like many other children, I was always very curious and full of questions about our life on this Earth.  Fortunately, because my family signed, communication was never an issue and all my questions were answered, allowing for full understanding and language accessibility growing up. I could imagine a future for myself." He feels sorry for the deaf children of hearing parents who don’t know sign language, whose questions are left unanswered because of barriers in communication with their families, leaving them struggling with knowledge gaps from a very young age.

Bilal believes that early sign language exposure is not just a basic human right for Deaf children but a dire necessity, he says :"I cannot emphasize enough how important early language exposure and communication access was to me when growing up, as well as having strong Deaf role models.  My father was my greatest role model."  Bilal's father ran a large factory that produced and exported eye-drops.  As the CEO, he oversaw a staff comprising over 15 hearing employees.  Bilal refreshes his memories of his father's office: "His office was a place I loved to visit--he knew all the inner workings of the factory and could explain to me in detail how everything was done.  When we would walk through his factory, the hearing employees would acknowledge him with respectful greetings.  I could see that they were even a bit intimidated by him.  It meant a lot to me to see my father, a strong Deaf role model, in a position of power.  It made me proud to be Deaf like him."

Bilal's elder brother - Aqil Chinoy is a prominent deaf role model in India. Bilal goes into a flashback, thinking about their bond: "Growing up, I was so thankful to have a partner in crime--my brother.  Together we came up with new projects, games, and were never at a loss for something fun and exciting to do, building upon their knowledge and skills."

Bilal's supportive upbringing, rich in communication, allowed him to develop a strong Deaf identity. However, outside the positive home environment, he felt this sense of identity and pride waver at times.  For example, many hearing people would express pity upon finding out that he was Deaf. He recounts those painful times : "Instead of seeing me as a person, they would pathologize my deafness. This made me feel invisible in the hearing world.  When my family would go out to eat, hearing people around us would stare and laugh, mocking our signing."  Keep in mind that India is a diverse country with myriad spoken languages, which his family always respected. Sadly, however, that respect wasn’t mutual when it came to sign language.  He recognizes that the issue is lack of awareness, however these were the times when his Deaf identity was undermined.

When he was young, he did go to a school for the Deaf, but he soon realized that the education was not of the best quality. The teachers used oral methods--meaning they did not sign--and they were not particularly motivated to teach, leaving him and millions like him in the dark.  Bilal reminisces his early school life : "I felt disconnected with my classmates, who were mostly from hearing families and lacked sign language skills.  This meant that communication in the classroom was frustrating and inadequate, leaving me at a loss. My parents noticed and decided to transfer me to a regular school with hearing students, which was even worse.  I was from a different world than them. There was no interpreter and I couldn’t follow anything going on in class. My classmates outpaced me except in subjects that depended on visual knowledge of real world things, like art, math, computer, science, and geography."  In these subjects, he had the background knowledge because of everything he had learned from his family.  He even had a private tutor at home, which added to his work-load.  It took a great effort, but despite not understanding the teacher's spoken lectures, despite not having language access, he made it through ten years in public school and graduated high school.

Bilal's brother, Aqil was attending Gallaudet University and loving it, so it didn’t take much to convince Bilal to go there as well.  Bilal describes his Gallaudet experience : "When I arrived at Gallaudet, I felt like I had found my second home.  Imagine Gallaudet’s grand campus with 100 times as many Deaf people as my modest home--it was like we were all one family.  In my classes I could communicate directly with my teachers and peers in ASL, something I had never experienced at any school in India."  Bilal graduated Gallaudet with a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design and a minor in Computer Science.  As a student at Gallaudet, he was involved in all kinds of student organizations, volunteering to help with design, marketing, etc., Gallaudet University took notice of his artistic abilities and offered him a job after he graduated, which he happily accepted. For ten years, he has worked in university communications and marketing, doing multimedia designing to recruit more students.  Bilal also teaches a web design class at the bachelor’s level, and really loves both his jobs.

From his work experience at Gallaudet, he has gained a strong skillset, something that he is using to give back to the Deaf community in India.  "Some of the Deaf rights campaigns have requested me to design their logo, so I worked with them on those projects.  I also serve as a sort of liaison for them with a network of Deaf lawyers here in the US to provide any advice. Most of all, I enjoy sharing what the latest research in the field of Deaf education has to say about the benefits of sign bilingual education for Deaf children with the Indian Deaf community."

His brother supports the Indian Deaf community as well--he has a small business ‘Inspiralive’ which advises Deaf entrepreneurs on how to create their own businesses. Bilal designed the logo for his startup and is extremely glad to see that his business really took off.  It is always a wonderful feeling to see his work enabling others to get a step closer to achieving their own dreams.

Bilal's wife and him, both are passionately inclined towards investing in the future of Deaf children in India through their Young Achievers project and ISL Connect. Bilal says: "Looking back, I have noticed a lot of young Deaf Indians becoming advocates and leaders in their communities in their early 20s, but I always wonder why didn’t they start sooner, at a younger age."  With the Young Achievers project, there are many ways of empowering the Deaf Youths.  One is through a Deaf mentor, a Deaf person who works with the hearing families of Deaf children to teach them sign language.  These Deaf mentors also work with Deaf children who have not had access to education, making visits to their home for tutoring sessions to support their growth. They also partner with International Deaf Youth Camps and raise funds for Deaf Indian youth to attend the camps, a place where they can meet successful Deaf adults. Young Achievers project has seen successful four years so far.  Bilal beams with satisfaction : "It inspires me to see our participants grow and I am so happy with the work we have done."

Bilal finds himself deeply connected with the Deaf community in India, especially the younger generation, he wants to tell them : "Many of you have hearing parents and teachers, who try to dictate your futures, without understanding - what it is like from your perspective and what you really need. My advice to you would be - to follow your heart and chase your own dreams. There are three important things to remember to help you succeed:  figure out who you are, what your purpose in life is, and what your plan is for tomorrow.  If you know the answers to these three questions, you can do anything.  Never give up on your dreams!"