Deaf Community Research

Greetings GDRI community! We are thrilled to share the latest news from the Global Deaf Research Institute. As always, your support is what makes this transformative work possible. Together, we continue to advocate for and empower deaf communities around the world, building a future where deaf voices are heard, valued, and represented in global research. Thank you for being an essential part of our mission.

Recent GDRI Events: "Ecuador’s Deaf Community Takes Center Stage!"

We are excited to announce the successful completion of Deaf Community Research: Ecuador! After months of diligent data collection, we presented our preliminary findings to the National Federation of Deaf People of Ecuador, led by President Rodolfo Minchalo. President Minchalo hosted a press conference, bringing together government officials and the media to spotlight the urgent needs of Ecuador’s deaf community.

In an incredible milestone, GDRI was even featured on Ecuadorian News! As part of this achievement, we also signed an official agreement with CONADIS (National Council for the Equality of Disabled People), securing a commitment to incorporate our data into their 2025 Agenda for the Equality of Disabled People. We were sorry to say goodbye to our new friends and partners in Ecuador, but as ongoing GDRI collaborators, we look forward to working with them again in the future.

"Bringing Diabetes Health Literacy to Ecuador: A New Collaboration"

While still in Ecuador, we were joined by Michelle Litchman and Bruno Gonzales from the University of Utah. Together, we’ve been creating accessible health content about diabetes in American Sign Language (ASL), a vital effort as health literacy remains a significant barrier for deaf populations. But we didn't stop there. Given our strong ties with the Ecuadorian Ministry of Public Health and access to a talented LSEC (Ecuadorian Sign Language) translator, we asked, why not extend these resources to Ecuador too?

We met with the Ministry to explore the possibility of adapting this health content into LSEC. Once an official agreement is reached, we’ll be moving forward with this exciting project that will improve deaf health literacy both in the US and in Ecuador. Stay tuned for updates!

"A Groundbreaking Study in Nigeria!"

We are proud to announce that our pilot deployment in Nigeria has already yielded groundbreaking results! In November 2023, GDRI conducted our pilot study of Deaf Community Research. Since then, our talented team of deaf research has already publisehd Nigeria's first-ever study on deaf Nigerians, published by deaf scientists. The paper explores the critical issue of food and water security for the deaf population in Nigeria. This research is a huge milestone, and you can read the full study here: Food and Water Security for Deaf Nigerians. This is just the beginning—our work in Nigeria is already setting the stage for further advocacy and policy change!

"Countdown to DCR: Dominican Republic!"

Our planning for Deaf Community Research: Dominican Republic (DCR:DR) is well underway, and we are excited about the next steps. This quarter, we’ve been in close discussions with CONADIS – Dominican Republic and reaching out to local deaf communities to gather vital insights. We are also actively seeking funding to ensure that our work in the DR can make a lasting impact.

Our research will focus on improving health outcomes and educational access for deaf Dominicans, and we need your help to make it happen. Every donation brings us closer to this groundbreaking work—please consider making a donation to support this project as we aim to change the lives of deaf individuals in the Dominican Republic. 

"Building Bridges at the Global Disability Summit"

GDRI had the incredible opportunity to attend the Global Disability Summit in Berlin, hosted by the International Disability Association and the Government of Germany. This summit was a chance to reconnect with old friends, build new relationships, and raise awareness about GDRI’s critical work.

Conferences like this are vital for gaining recognition from large funders and expanding our global impact. We're excited for the future as more people are beginning to notice us and the work we do. Special thanks to Maria Cardoza, an amazing volunteer interpreter, who flew to Berlin to interpret for us— she's part of the dream team, and we're lucky to have her!

Looking Forward:

As we move into the next quarter, we are more energized than ever to continue our mission. With your support, we will:

• Continue to push forward in the Dominican Republic.

• Expand our partnerships with international organizations and governments to ensure the deaf community is represented in vital research and policy.

• Further develop innovative health literacy resources for deaf populations globally.

Together, we are making a real impact.

Thank you once again for your continued support and dedication. We look forward to sharing more updates with you soon!

Links:

• Check out our report in the Ecuadorian News! Video is in Spanish

Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays from all of us on the Global Deaf Research Institute team! As the year comes to a close, there's an incredible amount of work to update you since our update this Summer. As always, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for your continued support. Without our GDRI donor community, this work wouldn't be possible. So, on to the update!

Deaf Community Research: Ecuador!

We are so excited to be wrapping up our first official longterm deployment of the Deaf Community Research initiative! Our team spent 3 months traveling around Ecuador, to deaf population centers located in Quito, Lago Agrio, Cuenca, Guayaquil, and Portoviejo to meet and connect with the deaf communities in these places. We received slightly above 300 responses to our national survey on the Social Determinants of Health for the deaf community and conducted focus group interviews with more than 100 participants! 

Data collection ended the first week of December, and our team is already hard at work analyzing all of this gorgeous, gorgeous data! Over the next several weeks, we will begin to be able to produce insights and recommendations and soon, will have a white paper available presenting our findings. 

Our next step is to return to the capital, Quito, so we can present our findings officially to our host organization, FENASEC, the National Federation of Deaf People of Ecuador. FENASEC has been heavily involved in our deployment of this community-lead initiative, along with the local Disability Rights organization, CONADIS (National Council for the Equality of Disabled People). They connected us with regional deaf organizations, spread the word about our research, supported us with office space, and opened doors that made our data collection phase a huge success. 

After presenting our findings to FENASEC president Rodalfo Minchalo, we will be holding a townhall to present our findings to the Ecuadorian government so that we can show them evidence that the basic needs of this community are not adequately being met!

GDRI at Two International Conferences

People are starting to take notice of our work! GDRI was lucky to attend TWO regional conferences since this summer, the First Interregional Meeting of Urban Preparedness for Health Emergencies and Disasters Response and Recovery held by the PanAmerican Health Organization (a branch of the World Health Organization) in Quito, Ecuador in October, and the Regional Summit on Disability for Latin America and the Caribbean hosted by RIADIS (the Latin American Network of Disabled Organizations) in Rio de Janeiro in December, where GDRI was able to present preliminary findings from DCR: Ecuador! A huge thank you to Juan Angel de Gouveia, President of RIADIS for taking us under his wing and getting us entree to these two important events. Executive Director Lorne Farovitch met with the presidents of the national deaf organizations from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Peru, Paraguay, and Venezuela, all of whom agreed to write letters of support for our organization to perform our needs assessment in their countries: this is huge! The invitation from the community is the all-important first step in our deployment process, which means work can get under way!

Giving Tuesday

A huge thank you to all of you who supported our Giving Tuesday campaign. Thanks to your support, we were able to raise a total of $3,453, including $698 in matching funds from GlobalGiving! We're so grateful to our community for turning out that day - thank you!

GDRI in 2025

As the year draws to a close, we're looking with excitement at what 2025 holds in store: we've begun work on our second deployment: DCR: Dominican Republic, as well as two large fundraising events in Los Angeles and New York. 2024 was a wild ride of a year, with so much to be grateful for and so much experience to learn from. We are committed to maintain and IMPROVING our efforts to support the global deaf comunity, and are lucky to have you along for the ride.