An employee from Puji Charity teaches sign language to the medical staff at a hospital in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"Deaf people live not only in silence but also in loneliness and misunderstanding. Many are shy and have low self-esteem," Hong says.

"It is important for them to be able to communicate with people around them. Since they cannot speak as we do, we should learn their language and reach out to them."

The charity has initiated various events and programs to help people know more about deaf people's world and living experience, such as showing people how to communicate with others without speaking, teaching them sign language and filming the daily lives of people with severe hearing problems, Hong says.

They have also cooperated with driving schools to help people with hearing problems get easy access to driving lessons.

Two years ago, the facility started a long-term program to provide free sign-language learning sessions to people from all walks of life, such as primary and middle school students, civil servants, and white-collar workers.

"We discovered that a lot of people are interested in learning sign language, as long as they are given the opportunity," says Zhang Yanbin, an employee with the charity.

The Sign Language School program also has online sessions, for the convenience of people who want to learn on their own in their spare time.

At first, the program used words and pictures to illustrate how to sign. But the organization later decided to make a video dictionary to present sign-language more clearly, Zhang adds.