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A Miracle for Deaf People (Advanced Program) · Spotlight English: Advanced

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Spotlight Advanced. I'm Alice Irrazari and.
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: I'm Patrick Woodwood. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: It is easier for people to understand no matter where
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: in the world they live.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: You are in a busy office in India. Women sit
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: at computers or stand at tables organizing papers. Young men
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: come and go. They wear bright orange shirts and black trousers.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Each one has a black bag full of papers over
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: his shoulder. In these ways, it seems like any other business,
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: but something is different. It is very quiet. It seems
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: no one is taught talking. The office workers are communicating
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: with each other, but they are not using their voices.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: They are using their hands. They are communicating using Indian
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: sign language. The workers here are all deaf. They cannot hear.
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: This is Miracle Couriers in Mumbai, India. This business provides
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: jobs for deaf men and women. They are couriers. That
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: means they carry letters or other papers from one place
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: to another across the city. Today's Spotlight is about the
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: success of Miracle Couriers and the changes that they're making
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: for deaf people in Mumbai.
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: Drew Lakra started Miracle Couriers in two thousand and nine.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: Drew was a successful young man. He had a business
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: degree from Oxford University in England, and he had a
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: good job at a bank, but he wanted to do
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: some work to help his community.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: One day, Dreuve got his chance. He was riding a
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: bus in the city. He sat next to a boy
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: who seemed to be struggling. This boy looked out the window.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: He seemed worried. He was looking at the signs and
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: street names, but he could not hear the bus driver.
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: Dreuve tried to talk to the boy to help him,
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  Speaker 2: but he could not hear Dreve. The boy was deaf,
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: he was not sure where he was. Drewve began to
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: communicate with the boy by writing on a piece of paper.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: He soon understood that the boy faced many problems in life.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: Dreuve wondered if he could help other deaf people with
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: similar problems. From this experience, Dreve developed a new business idea,
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: training men and women who were deaf and giving them jobs.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: India has one of the largest deaf populations in the world.
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: About six percent of India's population is death. They are
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: often given less respect than other members of society and
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: they often face problems when finding work. Only sixty seven
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: percent of deaf people in India find a job. These
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: are not usually good jobs. Instead, they are informal jobs
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: like selling things on the street or cleaning. They are
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: often paid very little money and work is not the
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: only place many deaf people experience problems.
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: Vandana Sewant is one of twenty women who work in
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: the office of Miracle Couriers. Vandana has experienced many of
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: the problems that other deaf people face. She lost her
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: hearing as a child. She loved school, but she struggled
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: to get an education. She even had to hire a
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: private teacher. Then she trained to work in an office.
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: Vandana is married and she has a son, but her
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: husband's family does not treat her well because she is deaf,
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: and employers also treated her badly. When she looked for
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: a job, no one wanted to give her a job
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: because she could not hear. She looked for a job
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: for ten years but no one would employ her, but
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: she did not give up. Finally she found a job
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  Speaker 1: with Miracle Couriers. On the Miracle Courier's website, she.
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: Said, it is the first time that I can save
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  Speaker 3: some money. It is also the first time I can
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: help my husband pay the bills. I can finally go
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: out and buy food, clothes and enjoy life.
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: The women employed at Miracle Couriers work in the office.
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  Speaker 2: They often work on computers. They are trained to organize
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: packages and papers. They also use computers to track when
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: packages arrive. They share this information with the people's sense
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: and receiving the papers. These women make sure that everything
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: gets to the right place.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: The couriers of Miracle Couriers are deaf men who travel
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: around Mumbai. They carry letters, packages and other communications to
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  Speaker 1: individuals and businesses. Bala is a young courier who knows
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: his way around Mumbai. He does not even take the bus.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: He walks, but he knows the best fastest paths. He
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: carries magazines to a radio station and letters to a bank.
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  Speaker 1: At each place, the people do not treat him badly
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  Speaker 1: because he is deaf. They treat him with respect because
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: he is doing a good job.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: At Miracle Couriers, both men and women are gaining this respect.
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  Speaker 2: They're gaining important experience and financial independence. Miracle Couriers is
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: not an organization that just helps deaf people. It's a
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: for profit business that teaches deaf people to help themselves.
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: At Miracle Couriers, the workers learn many important skills. This
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: includes being on time. They learn to always look their best.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: They learn to concentrate on the details.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: Deaf people who want to work do not always get
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  Speaker 1: the support they need from their families. Sometimes their families
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: want to protect them. Dreve and his team want the
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: families to encourage their deaf members to be independent. On
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: the Miracle Courier's website, Drew Vlacra explains, families want the
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: deaf to sit at home instead of working. The fear
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: of putting them in society is major.
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: Because of this, Drew has worked to create a good
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: relationship with the families of the employees. In October twenty ten,
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: Miracle Couriers celebrated International Deaf Awareness Week. All the workers
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: and their families gathered for a celebration. The workers wrote
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  Speaker 2: and performed a play about how Miracle Couriers helped them.
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  Speaker 2: This showed their families the importance of Miracle Couriers.
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: Businesses like Miracle Couriers help deaf people to become full
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  Speaker 1: members of society. They also let the rest of society
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  Speaker 1: see the skills that deaf people have to share. Miracle
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: Couriers is a success as a business. Large companies and
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: many other banks and nonprofit organizations employ Miracle Couriers. They
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: have also received many awards that recognize this success. Drew
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: Vlocra explains that social change is a long process. It
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: takes a long time to change people's opinions slowly. Miracle
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  Speaker 1: Couriers is helping deaf people take important steps to independence.
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: Tell us about support for deaf people where you live.
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: Have you studied sign language for the deaf people in
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: your community? Where would you have an opportunity to learn
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: sign language? You can leave a comment on our website
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: at www dot Spotlight English dot com. You can also
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: find us on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and x You
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: can also get Spotlight episodes delivered directly to your Android
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: or Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: The writer of this episode was from the Spotlight team.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: The producer was mitchyo Osaki. The voices you heard were
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: were adapted for this episode and voiced by Spotlight. No
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: AI or artificial intelligence was used in this episode. Spotlight
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: episodes are written voice and produced by real people, for
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: real people, no matter where in the world they live.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: This episode is called a Miracle for deaf people.
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: We hope you can join us again for the next
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: Spotlight episode. Goodbye,