As the world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, it’s important to remember that women’s achievements should be recognized every day of the year. One woman who deserves recognition for her outstanding work is Devangi Dalal, an audiologist, speech-language pathologist, and one of the founders of the Josh Foundation. Her organization provides free hearing aids to underprivileged children in India, helping them hear again and live fuller lives.
Dalal’s work with young children who have hearing impairments has gained public attention and accolades. In 2012, she became the first Indian to receive the American Academy of Audiology’s Humanitarian Award, and in 2019, she received the Women Influencers Award. Throughout her professional career, she has been recognized as the executive secretary of the Maharashtra Speech & Hearing Association and the winner of the Best Pediatric Hearing Aid Center in India title.
Not content to rest on her laurels, Dalal has also authored books and created a telefilm to create awareness of hearing impairment. She has even written a book to spread positivity during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Her constant efforts and courage in accepting challenges to give a new life to people suffering from this unseen disability have made her reach the international platform. She was appointed as the First Advocate for Hearing Health from India by Coalition for Global Hearing Health (CGHH), working with WHO to promote public awareness about hearing health.
Through her foundation, Dalal has distributed over a thousand hearing aids to children and has successfully provided children in 12 schools with 100 percent digital hearing aids. Her main objective is to help and support kids who have hearing issues and make them equally inclusive in our society. She believes that “the world will aspire to the beauty of kindness if we make these specially abled children equally inclusive in our society.”
Her dedication and hard work have been instrumental in collecting funds of more than Rs 4.5 Crore so far to support hearing-impaired children. Dalal’s goal is to bring about a change in society’s perception of hearing and speech-impaired children and to provide them with the same opportunities as other children.
In honor of her extraordinary achievements and contributions to society, Devangi Dalal has been recognized with the prestigious Humanitarian Award. Her tireless efforts to help underprivileged children hear again for free are an inspiration to all, and her commitment to making the world a better place for everyone is truly commendable.
