education 165
Working together to help deaf children succeed
Deaf children can succeed when parents, schools, and communities work
together to create a positive environment for them. Good education for these
children depends on many things, including:
• whether children learn and use a language.
• whether there is good teaching, communication, and family
participation.
• whether the community
creates opportunities for
deaf people to succeed.
The primary school where I
teach has a popular carpentry
class taught by a deaf man.
Parents, schools, and communities can work together with deaf youth to
make sure vocational training that they want is available, that jobs are
offered to deaf people, and that loans or grants are available for small
businesses.
Our group of deaf adults
manage the railway
station’s restaurant. I
think it is good for the
hearing people we meet to
learn to communicate with
us. And if they don’t learn,
they don’t eat!
Some communities even give
lower taxes or financial
assistance to businesses that
employ workers who are deaf or
do not hear well. Community
organizations have established
revolving loan plans that
provide deaf craftspeople with
funds to buy the basic equipment and materials to start their own small
businesses. The loans are paid back little by little, so that the same
money can be used to
help another deaf person
get started.
Several of my deaf friends who
studied religion now serve as
priests, and use sign language
to communicate.
House painters find success
A network of deaf men in the south of India ran a house-
painting business. People preferred to ask them to paint
their houses as they did it faster than other painters. Babu,
the leader, was skilled at negotiating and actively looked for
new business. With many houses being built or remodeled, more and
more people discovered the group of deaf men were skilled at their
work, and they were in great demand.
Helping Children Who Are Deaf (2004)