Friends of the Deaf plans to fund the infrastructure, staff and materials needed to support the education of 30 deaf children in Guatemala. This project will fill a void in the Guatemalan school system where support for deaf children is non-existent.
There are more than 100,000 deaf men, women and children in Guatemala. They suffer great discrimination and are often exploited or left out of society all together. They find it almost impossible to find work and if they do, they are paid far lower wages. As there are no provisions for deaf children in public schools, few are educated and many are hidden away, considered a shame to the family. This project will help 30 deaf children attend school and prepare them for a better future.
With Friends of the Deaf, children first learn Guatemalan sign language and then attend classes to study academic subjects necessary to succeed. We also offer vocational training so that our students gain the life skills that they need to become productive members of their communities. We also work with parents so they can better communicate with their children and understand that having a deaf child is a blessing, not a curse.
This project will educate 30 deaf children in Guatemala. After gaining basic technical and practical knowledge they will be able to support themselves independently. This will reduce the level of poverty and promote a higher standard of living among the deaf population in Guatemala.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Excel file (projdoc.xls).
