The students of this school for special education, all of whom are deaf or hearing impaired, are asking for your help to start a business on the school premises where crafts and bake goods, handmade by them, will be showcased and sold to the public. This co-operative venture will provide opportunities for the students to learn entrepeneurship skills and create employment for them, allowing them to become more independent and self-sufficient while making the school itself more sustainable.
There are no publicly funded schools for deaf or hearing impaired children in the State of Guanajuato. Escuela de Educacion Especial de San Miguel de Allende is a grass roots, volunteer run, non-profit which opened in 2012 to provide an education to these children. Of the 23 students enrolled about half are 16 years or older. As it is very difficult for the students to find meaningful employment in their community, they are asking for your help to allow them to become financially independent.
Currently these 12 students are being taught valuable skills in the areas of carpentry, sewing, cooking/baking and jewellery making through Vocational Training Programs run by volunteers at the school. The students wish to take these programs a step further by learning entrepeneurial skills and acquire what is necessary to set up a retail business. Classes headed by professionals will teach them how to market their goods and sell them to the public, earning a modest income in the process.
There are plans to grow the school to 100 students over the next five years. Following graduation, willing students have the opportunity to learn a vocational skill and this project will provide the added opportunity of putting that skill to good use. By being part of a co-operative business venture, providing valuable employment income, young women with hearing disabilities will gain the life changing opportunity to become productive and self-sufficient citizens in their community
