Read more
Muskan is a 15-year-old student of Class 8 at Deaf Reach School (DRS) Karachi in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Muskan’s father Ghulam Hussain is an engineer and the family lives in Labor Colony, Baldia Town. Muskan has three other sisters and two brothers.
Although Muskan lived with her hearing siblings, she was unable to communicate with any of her family members leading her to mostly live in isolation. Despite his best efforts, Ghulam Hussain was unable to communicate with Muskan and even while working long hours he was deeply worried about her future. As he saw his other children progress while Muskan struggled to even express herself, Ghulam Hussain had almost given up on Muskan ’s prospects for schooling. The parents were deeply worried and struggled to find affordable schooling for their only deaf child given their low income.
Then one day while running an errand, Ghulam Hussain came across DRS’s branded van. Upon further enquiry the driver told Ghulam Hussain the location of the school and encouraged him to meet the school Principal for further information. Ghulam Hussain visited the school the very next day. The principal took Ghulam Hussain for a school tour and elaborated on the facilities available to the students. She also told him that the school did not charge any fee and had a free pick and drop service. Ghulam Hussain was ecstatic to observe students of Muskan’s age communicating with each other using PSL and attending class in a secure environment. The school administration encouraged the importance of letting Muskan attend school and after touching base with the parents of other deaf students, Ghulam Hussain decided to get Muskan enrolled in DRS Karachi. The school does not charge any tuition fees from Muskan as the administration realizes that Ghulam Hussain cannot pay school fees regularly.
Muskan has been provided quality education in basic mathematics and language skills of Urdu and English. Currently, she studies in Grade 8, has made friends at school and looks forward to meeting them every day. The school has provided her with a chance to change her life and be a productive member of society.
