Resource centre for the deaf

From: The Star, Malaysia - Jul 18, 2004

Located in the Community Service Centre for the Deaf (CSCD) near Bukit Nenas in Kuala Lumpur, the deaf community will now have an e-learning resource facility equipped with a server, six high-end computers, a media room and a library, to serve their educational and special needs.

The Citigroup Cyberschool Education programme was launched in 1997 with the objective of providing state-of-the-art computer facilities for students to pick up information technology (IT) skills. This programme is fully funded by Citigroup Foundation.

Officiating the opening of the resource centre were the deputy minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Datuk G Palanivel, Citigroup country officer Piyush Gupta, and SID founder Tan Yap.

"We are very pleased that Citigroup has stepped forward with contributions that will benefit both the deaf community and society at large," said Palanivel.

He added that as Malaysia transitions to a knowledge-based society, it was crucial that everyone be given an opportunity to acquire knowledge in information technology.

"The setting up of this resource centre is very timely as it creates a path towards meeting the pressing needs of literacy in IT, especially for our deaf community," he added.

Tan said that the resource centre would not only benefit the deaf community but also the public as those interested in learning more about communicating in sign language would also be able to access programmes and tools electronically.

It would also help the deaf and hard-of-hearing become more gainfully employed and self-reliant in future, he added.

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