Staff Reporter : kolkata, 2nd. March 2024.
3 March is World Hearing Day (WHD) . The theme for this year is “Changing mindsets: Let’s make ear and hearing care a reality for all! WHD2024 will focus on overcoming the challenges posed by societal misperceptions and stigmatizing mindsets through awareness-raising and information-sharing, targeted at the public and health care providers.
On this occasion, Anwesha Kolkata is organizing a press meet with the hope that the media will play a proactive role in creating awareness about ear and hearing care (EHC). We would like to address the key messages:
• Globally, over 80% of ear and hearing care needs remain unmet.
• Unaddressed hearing loss poses an annual cost of nearly US$1 trillion globally.
• Deeply ingrained societal misperceptions and stigmatizing mindsets are key factors that limit efforts for preventing and addressing hearing loss.
• Changing mindsets related to ear and hearing care is crucial to improving access and mitigating the cost of unaddressed hearing loss.
In the spirit of the WHO’s 2024 campaign, Anwesha Kolkata will organize the following events to create awareness about ear and hearing care (EHC).
Awareness programme
March 1, Friday, 2024
( 11 AM – 12 Noon) An awareness programme will be held at Berhampure, Murshidabad in collaboration with Berhampur Murshidabad Youth Choir and address the safe listening practises and the usage of the HearWHO app for self-hearing checks.
Press Meet
March 2, Saturday, 2024
(5:00 PM -6:00 PM) A press meet will be organized at Press Club of Kolkata, Maidan. A panel comprises of eminent ENT specialist, representative from Health Dept. Govt of West Bengal, will be invited to highlight the main issues on hearing loss and its prevention, counter the common misperceptions and stigmatizing mindsets related to ear and hearing problems in communities and among health care providers.
Tableau
March 3, Sunday, 2024
( 9 AM – 4 PM) The Anwesha Kolkata team will conduct a campaign for the awareness of the general public and passers-by through a tableau with support from the Rotary Club of Calcutta West Ridge. From 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the tableau team will visit important junctions of the city, interact with general
people and distribute leaflets on misperceptions and stigmatizing mindsets, the key factors, that limit efforts for preventing and addressing hearing loss.
Awareness Programme
March 3, Sunday, 2024
(4 PM to 5 PM) In collaboration with Disability Activists Forum West Bengal (DAFWB), Anwesha Kolkata will organise an awareness programme on ear and hearing care at Jadavpur 8B from 4 PM to 5 PM. A few young adults with deafness and other disabilities will share their messages to create awareness about recreational noise-induced hearing loss and promote safe listening practises in daily life.
College Awareness Program
March 5 & March 6, 2024
(11:30 AM to 12:30 PM)
An awareness session on ear and hearing care will be organized at Women’s Christian College, Kalighat on 5th March 2024 and K K Das College on 6th March 2024 for the students and faculty members to familiarise them with ear and hearing care, safe listening practises and the usage of the HearWHO app for self-hearing checks.
Memorandum
March 7, Thursday, 2024 A memorandum on implementation for newborn hearing screening will be submitted to the health dept, Government of West Bengal
Hearing Screening
March 7 and March 9 2024
Two hearing screening camps will be organized for underprivileged young babies and children at Immunization Centre, Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission Ashram, Narendrapur and within South Kolkata.
An association of parents and well-wishers of children and persons with hearing impairment
3/91, Chittaranjan Colony, Kolkata – 700032, W.B India, Ph: +91 33 24258673,
Mobile No: 9433969558/9836731130, Email: anweshakolkata@yahoo.co.in;Website : www.anweshakolkata.org
Awarded as Best Parents’ Organization by Govt. of West Bengal in 2011 & 2017; Recipient of The Telegraph School Award 2019
Organization Profile
Anwesha Kolkata is a parent led organization working with children and persons with deafness for their social inclusion. We believe deaf children have immense potential; they only need the right opportunities at the right time to emerge as contributing citizens as adults.
Started in 2004, Anwesha Kolkata has been actively involved in creating an enabling environment for holistic development of children that are deaf or hard of hearing, with parents as equal partners through its early intervention and pre–school programme, counseling, guidance and parents training course, speech, language and grooming support to children. We are also working within the community through networking with other parents groups and likeminded organizations, advocating for the rights of children and persons with deafness.
Anwesha Kolkata has become a familiar name in the field of disability in West Bengal and received the following awards:
• Neelam Bhandari Humanity Award from the Rotary Club of Calcutta in March 2021.
• Swami Nityananda Memorial Award for Nar Narayan Seva” in January 2020 by Ramakrishna Vivekananda Mission, Barrackpore.
• Recipient of “The Telegraph Education Foundation” Certification of Honour For “Touching Lives” in 2019
• Best Parents Group Award by the Department of Social Welfare, Govt. of West Bengal in 2011 and 2017.
• The Legend Mahesweta Devi Memorial Award 2017.
N.B. : Anwesha’s World Hearing Day awareness-raising activity was recognised in World Health Organization (WHO) reports for six consecutive years, from 2017 to 2022.
For more details, please log on our site www.anweshakolkata.org
Call to ACTION
On the occasion of World Hearing Day 2024, we urge our government to take action to
1. Ensure newborn hearing screening for every baby born in West Bengal
2. Ensure a care pathway for every baby identified with hearing loss with appropriate early intervention
3. Make ear and hearing care a part of the primary health care system
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