Completed Projects

DeafBlind series of workshops in Guatemala and El Salvador

The SIL Global Sign Languages Team coordinated a DeafBlind training initiative with partners in Guatemala and El Salvador. The training was designed to raise awareness and build local capacity.  The traveling team included Jill Gaus, a DeafBlind professor from Michigan with a distinguished record of service and advocacy; Jeanette Gladstone, a sign language interpreter with DeafBlind specialization; and Sonia Shannon, SIL’s Multilingual Deaf Education Coordinator. Jill led the training, drawing from her extensive lived experience and professional expertise.

The training consisted of a series of workshops and presentations focused on key topics such as vision loss, human guide techniques, ProTactile and haptic communication, adaptive games, and ethical practices for interacting with DeafBlind individuals. More than 140 people participated in hands-on workshops, including Deaf and hearing educators, DeafBlind students and adults, Deaf students, interpreters, parents, school staff, church members, university students, government officials, and representatives from NGOs. 

Through interactive learning experiences, including the use of simulation goggles, participants learned about various vision losses and the unique identity and culture of the DeafBlind community. One key takeaway was the realization that “DeafBlind” is not the complete loss of both sight and hearing nor the intersection of two disabilities, but rather a distinct cultural and linguistic group. 

The training was in two sessions. The morning session was at a Deaf NGO and the afternoon session was at a Deaf school that had 11 DeafBlind students. According to the Director of the school, some parents who have DeadBlind children hide their children in their homes and others are reluctant to send them to school because there is no educational program for DeafBlind students in Burundi. Schools hesitate to accept DeafBlind children because they do not have the proper facilities nor the training to teach them.

During this 2-weeks training,  54 people were trained, 28 students and 26 adults. This included  Deaf and DeaBlind students,  teachers and school administrators,  parents,  Deaf leaders, and interpreters.

Anti- Human Trafficking

Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras

Deaf in Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras created  anti-human trafficking material. This material was presented to Deaf students, their family, and friends at Deaf schools, Deaf classrooms, Deaf associations, and Deaf clubs in each country. 

Tanzania

 First Grade Textbook

BILAT, a Deaf NGO,  translated first grade school textbooks from Swahili to Tanzanian Sign Language.

At the end of the first phase of this project, 11 Deaf schools and Deaf units will benefit from these textbooks.

COVID-19 Material

During the pandemic, Deaf in Africa and Latin America produced COVID-19 material to provide valuable information to their local Deaf communities. Deaf have limited access to information. Many countries do not provide a sign language interpreter or the interpretation is not clear to the local Deaf.