From struggling to communicate, to holding a full time job
Ishan joined us as a vocational trainee in 2018. His profound hearing loss had no bearing on his extraordinary observation skills, attention span, and varied interests – Ishan loves cooking, fixing things, bodybuilding, planning and organizing.
As a team, we saw that we could involve Ishan in anything and he’d do a great job.”
— Prem Kumar Singh, Project Head, Latika Vihar
Despite his many talents, Ishan often struggled to communicate, especially at the workplace. He found himself jumping to conclusions about people’s perceptions of him, which became a source of stress. We counseled his parents on getting him a hearing test and hearing aids, and guided them on how to finance the aids.
Ishan’s first internship was at a salon where he learned to conduct himself around clients and colleagues. When he said he’d like to try something different, we worked with him to explore other areas of interest, eventually hitting upon the perfect fit – an opportunity at the Red Fox restaurant of the Lemon Tree hotel chain. Here, Ishan puts to use the skills he’s acquired in cooking, chopping, cleaning and hospitality to earn a monthly salary of Rs 10,000 with EPF benefits. His supervisors say that his commitment to doing the job well makes him a breeze to work with.