The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Did you hear of this effort?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Did you hear of this effort?

Akhila Seetharaman

Hostel mates come together to help colleague get his hearing back.

CAMARADERIE: Senthil Kumar (left) in conversation with Ramasubramani, from the hostel at College of Engineering Guindy. — Photo: N. Sridharan

CHENNAI: Studying in an English medium college is hard enough for students from Tamil-medium schools. But for Senthil Kumar, a 1st year electronics and communications engineering student at College of Engineering, Guindy, the task is more difficult as he has to rely on lip reading.

However, this hearing impaired student is fortunate to have hostel friends who share their notes with him and explain the lessons in Tamil late into the night. The result: Senthil has a cumulative grade point average of 7.5 out of 10.

The goodwill does not end there. If Senthil's friends have their way, when he returns for the third semester, he will not have to struggle to lip-read English. He will be able to hear it.

His hostel mates got in touch with Dr. Mohan Kameswaran of the Madras ENT Research Foundation and found out that his hearing could be partially restored with a cochlear implant costing Rs. 5.7 lakhs.

They then started raising funds. And received an overwhelming response. The hostel students alone have donated Rs. 3 lakhs, according to Ramasubramani, a student coordinating the effort.

All final year students have donated a chunk of their caution deposits.

"We want to have it done by the end of June so that Senthil can start the next semester with his hearing partially restored," he says. The Madras ENT Research Foundation agreed to waive the operation cost of Rs. 95,000.

Senthil, a first-generation learner and the son of a farmer, comes from a village in Nammakkal district.

Though he lost his hearing at the age of 10, he continued doing exceptionally well in class. "My father always had confidence in me and encouraged me to try for engineering," he says.

Now, his dream of being able to hear in class and work on his own could become a reality with help from friends.

Those interested in supporting the initiative can send cheques in favour of the Madras ENT Research Foundation Charitable Trust payable at Chennai (No. 15, P.S. Sivasamy Salai, Mylapore Chennai - 600 004). The donations are exempt from income tax. For details, contact 98841 28586.

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