Educate thousands of deaf children in rural Nepal

Summary of the project

The majority of deaf children living in Nepal, one of the world’s poorest countries, receive no education. We have been working in Nepal for a number of years in order to change this and give deaf children the same chances, opportunities and hope for the future that hearing children enjoy.

Full Project details

Background

The majority of deaf children living in Nepal receive no education. They are born into hearing families and, as there is no specialist support, they develop no language beyond the most basic of gestures. With no language and no education, their futures’ are bleak. Can you imagine a life with no language? How would you feel if your child was unable to tell you about their fears, hopes and dreams? We have been working in Nepal for a number of years in order to change this. By giving deaf children the chance to have their own language, an education and friends of their own we can give them hope for a brighter future; the same hope and expectations that hearing children enjoy.

How do we do this?

This life changing project has brought deaf awareness, Nepali Sign Language and a basic education to many deaf children. The regions are chosen each year by our partner organisation in Nepal, the NFDH (run by deaf people). In these regions a Deaf teacher is employed to teach Nepali Sign Language and basic literacy and numeracy to deaf children and adults. The difference this project makes to the lives of the deaf people in the regions and their families is amazing. The project has given language, education and hope to hundreds of deaf children (and many deaf adults too). Once deaf awareness is brought to these remote rural communities it often inspires greater community involvement.

Case Studies:

Sindhuli
The local people and government were so inspired by the project that they donated the land for a deaf school; a huge achievement given that for the most part people there were largely ignorant about deafness one year earlier. The deaf school in Sindhuli has now been open for over a year. It continues to go from strength to strength, offering many more children a better hope for the future.

Nawalparasi,
As a result of the project the local deaf organisation, run by an inspirational young woman called Deepa, asked us for funding to carry out a six month data collection project. The results were astonishing. Up to 500 deaf children in that region alone currently receive no form of education. The local government have now offered their support, giving land for a school and the promise of paying for some of the teaching staff once it is opened.

What’s next?

We want to repeat the successes of these regions all over Nepal, and you can make this happen! In every region of the country where a class is run the awareness raised about deafness leads to support from both government and local people, which in turn leads to increased sustainability for the project and a positive future for deaf people in that area.

Unless we can raise enough money this vital, life changing project will have to end. In the next five years we aim to take the project into even more remote areas of Nepal (some of which take up to 14 days to walk to). We would also like to work in each area for more than a year, developing the work done to ensure that we can meet the needs of Nepal’s deaf community and to create a permanent positive future for generations of deaf children to come. The wonders of the exchange rate mean that the cost of this project in one region of Nepal is about £3,500 per year. For this we can give language, education, support and a lifeline of hope for the future of deaf children who would otherwise have nothing.

This work really does change lives, can you help?