The Empowering Lives Together Foundation is a registered non-governmental organization under the NGO Act of 2002. The main objective of the NGO is to empower, raise awareness, and bridges a sustainable foundation of communication and mainstreaming/inclusion of deaf/hard of hearing people to all areas in life.
There is a great deal of confusion surrounding the legal rights of the deaf and hard of hearing. Both deaf and hearing individuals have difficulty understanding what accommodations deaf people are entitled to, and how exactly those needs get met. Thus the relationship between the hearing community and the deaf community has often been strained due to the continued lack of understanding of the deaf community and its values. Many deaf and hard of hearing people feel one of their biggest difficulties is the hearing culture that lack of understanding of the deaf community comes challenges in other aspects of daily life for deaf individuals: employment, higher education, healthcare, mental health services, emergency preparedness, technology, and government benefits. Example employers oftentimes avoid hiring a deaf employee as they see a person who will need ‘more’ by way of costly accommodations. This perspective is untrue, as many deaf employees are able to adapt well to the job and employers need to know that they are a diverse society of unique individuals with unique strengths.
"Deaf/hard of hearing people have equal life chances and opportunities to be active and equal members of the society."
"To promote inclusion of deaf/hard of hearing people so as to achieve equal rights in every area of their lives in the society."
