Babloo Kumar, is an enterprising youth leader. He is well known for his abstract metaphors in Indian Sign Language and his strong leadership skills. He is the President of the Youth Association of the Deaf, India (YADI) and has formerly worked as a Mobilization Specialist for 'Deaf Empowerment' at the Centum GRO Initiative and ISL Teacher at NISH, Kerala. He actively participates in the conferences at national and International level. He has already traveled to Turkey, Denmark, Singapore and wishes to travel more!
Babloo had very humble beginnings. He was born in a small village called 'Hatiya' in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Later, his family moved to Moradabad, UP. His family is all hearing, except his elder brother Dabloo. His father worked at a Government Office in U.P. and mother was a house-wife. He grew up in a society, where sign language had no place. His brother mostly lived apart, so there was limited interaction while growing up. He recounts his childhood experience : "There were conversations happening all around me, but I was always excluded. I spent my childhood roaming aimlessly in his village, milking cows, boating, shopping, meeting people and just observing the world around me. I was bored at home, and couldn't wait to get out."
Babloo studied at a Government Deaf School in Ranchi for seven years where he stayed at the hostel. Here, he met many deaf peers and his sign language skills grew, he wasn't satisfied with the quality of education. So, he moved to Delhi in 2001 to study at Gurgaon Deaf School. But, he was disappointed to find that the teaching quality was just as miserable in cities as well. He somehow managed to pass his class 10th.
Babloo feels enraged when he discusses the education for deaf in India: "I have traveled to many parts of India, and met many deaf students. The quality of education for the deaf in India is deplorable. Majority of the teachers in the deaf schools lack the basic motivation and sign language skills to teach anything. The deaf students spend years without even learning basic reading, writing skills. Thousands of young, bright deaf minds are being wasted every year. "
After finishing class 10th, he did an electrical training course at VRC, Azadpur for six months. Then, he joined the English, Typing and MS Office courses at Noida Deaf Society (NDS). He was amazed to see deaf instructors at NDS, it really boosted his confidence. In 2007, he enrolled at the ISL course at Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for Speech and Hearing Disabilities, AYJNISHD, Mumbai. After finishing that course, he joined NDS as a trainer. He was eager to complete class 11th and 12th, but couldn't find the right school. Fortunately, IGNOU started a BA (HONS) in Applied Sign Language Studies, BAASLS, in collaboration with University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom (UCLan). This was a four year programme, where he could apply. He became part of this unique, one of a kind course for the deaf, taught by many deaf teachers. The quality of content was excellent and delivery was exclusively in Indian Sign Language (ISL). He is eager to pursue higher education, but he has not found the right course or the university yet. He says : "The higher education options for deaf people in India become extremely limited, since there are no deaf colleges and provision of interpreters is quite rare."
Babloo has worked with Centum Gro Initiative, Hauz Khaz, New Delhi since Nov, 2016 as a Trainer as well as the Mobilization Coordinator, responsible for enrollment, by connecting with deaf students around the country. He loves his job - working directly with a deaf team and deaf students, teaching batches after batches and being part of fascinating initiatives.
He started working at an early age of 17-18 years. His first job was as an ISL instructor at NDS. He taught ISL and Basic English to deaf students, went for corporate trainings. He has also worked at 'Peer to Peer Deaf Literacy Programme', funded by UCLan for an year. He also associated with the Equal Opportunities Cell (EOC) at Delhi University, teaching ISL to college students for approximately 2.5 years. He conducted sign language classes for Delhi Metro Rail Corp. , DMRC Staff (April to July, 2013). He was appointed as an ISL instructor at National Institute of Speech and Hearing, NISH, Kerala in July 2013. He was quite captivated by the beauty of the NISH campus but taken aback by the faculty's attitude towards deafness and sign language. Babloo did a lot of work to empower the deaf adults at NISH and change the mindsets of people. Thanks to his efforts, the deaf community is Kerala has many strong young leaders and role models.
Babloo's brother, Dabloo is also deaf and has done his M.A. in Linguistics. His sister, Poonam has completed the Diploma in Indian Sign Language Interpreting (DISLI), B.Ed. in Special Education (H.I.), Mumbai and M.Ed. in Special Education (H.I.) from the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities (AYJNISHD), Mumbai.
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