Challenge:
As deaf and deafblind students grow to adulthood, they need to be equipped with skills that will make them employable, as well as more independent.

Approach:
The Vocational Training Unit (VTU) project was started in 1997 by the Helen Keller Institute for the Deaf and Deafblind to provide appropriate vocational and rehabilitation services to students reaching adolescence. The Unit focuses on developing skills that encourage independence in work-related areas, as well as in thought, movement and self-care.

The VTU project also addresses the larger needs of the community, with respect to creating awareness of deafblindness and encouraging the development of healthy and positive attitudes towards the disability.

Impact:
Each trainee is placed in an appropriate job, based on his/ her skills and level of functioning on completion of the training.

Beneficiaries: 35 Deaf & Deafblind trained by J&J.