Kerry Deaf Resource Centre Update 01.09.14
RE-OPEN AFTER ANNUAL LEAVE.
Our service re-opened today after our annual leave. We hope our staff &
supporters had an enjoyable holiday. If you would like to meet with any
staff member, please contact us for an appointment. Feel free to drop in for
a cup of tea & a chat too. We look forward to working with you all again in
the coming months.
SUCCESSFUL TRIP TO AMBO IN ETHIOPIA.
We would like to extend a warm welcome home to our Manager Willie White, and
to Veronica White & Steven White who were working with the Deaf community in
Ambo in Ethiopia. They were joined on this trip by Susan O’Callaghan from
the Cork Deaf Association and Ashley, Kayla & Megan Canne from America.
During their time in Ambo, the group visited the Ambo Lazarist Deaf School,
which was established approx 18 months ago with support from the Vincentian
Lay Missionaries (VLM) and the Deaf & hearing community in Ireland.
While in Ethiopia, the group provided training and workshops to the local
Deaf community and carried out a needs assessment, which will hopefully
contribute to future developments in Ambo. During their workshops, they
worked with approx 22-28 Deaf adults, 12-18 hearing adults learning sign
language and between 65 & 75 hearing children who were also learning sign
language.
The group also got to meet with a Dutch group who are working in Ethiopia to
establish a national sports federation for the Deaf. The Dutch group visited
the Deaf school in Ambo and in turn invited the Irish & American group to
meet members of the Deaf community in Addis Ababa.
While in Addis, they met with members of the Ethiopian National Association
for the Deaf (ENAD). The group also got to visit Addis Ababa University
Centre for Disability Studies & learn about courses, which are available to
Deaf students there including Ethiopian Sign Language, Deaf Studies & Deaf
Culture.
They were very fortunate to be invited to meet with approx 80-100 Deaf
people at a Deaf Café, which was organised to inform the local community of
plans for the Deaf Sports Federation. At this event, Willie was also invited
to give a talk on the Irish/Ethiopia Deaf Project.
The Irish & American team would like to extend a huge thank you to everyone
who supported them on this trip. Each group member brought a suitcase full
of donations which included adult & children’s clothing, school supplies,
art supplies, bags, sports gear and daily essentials including eco
flashlights, food containers, sterile wipes, plasters, toothbrushes &
toothpaste.
The team would like to thank Abba Asfaw and his team in the VLM compound in
Ambo; the teachers & staff of the Ambo Lazarist Deaf School and its
students; the Chairperson & members of the Ambo Deaf Association, Jos
Wesemann, Matthijs Terpstra, Tarja Wroldsen Os Karhunen of the Dutch team;
Yanit Girma & Yoseph Yemane who worked as our brilliant Deaf tour guides in
Addis Ababa: Kidane Admasu & the staff in Addis Ababa University;
Teklehaimanot Derso and the staff of ENAD; and Monique Deal Tibbs from
America.
To everyone who supports the Ethiopia Deaf Project in any way, your support
is greatly appreciated and is particularly appreciated by all those the team
worked with in Ambo. The school is changing Deaf people’s lives for the
better and they are forever grateful for this support.
Lastly, photos of the trip are being edited at the moment and we hope to
have them on our facebook page over the coming days
www.facebook.com/kerrydeaf
PETITION TO SAVE HANDS ON.
While we were on leave, we heard that Hands On, the TV programme for the
Deaf community in Ireland was cut and will not be re-commissioned this year.
The Irish Deaf Society (IDS) is calling on members of the Deaf & hearing
community to sign a petition calling on RTE to reinstate HANDS ON – the only
TV programme for the Deaf and hard of hearing in Ireland. The show has been
running for 18 years and the sudden cut means that the Deaf community are
now losing out on an accessible TV show in their first and preferred
language of Irish Sign Language.
A meeting with RTE is planned for the 26th September and they hope to hand
over this petition for the attention of the commissioning body of RTÉ.
Further information is available at
https://www.facebook.com/
SYMPATHIES TO THE FAMILY OF KEVIN SWEENEY.
We would like to extend our sympathies to the family of Kevin Sweeney from
Tralee who passed away in August. Kevin’s son Richard is Deaf and well known
in the Deaf community. Kevin was an active supporter of the Deaf community
many years ago when his son was younger. Our thoughts & prayers are with the
family.
OUR CONTACT DETAILS:
Kerry Deaf Resource Centre.
4 Gas Tce, Tralee, Co. Kerry, IRELAND
Charity Number CHY20854
Text (+353) 87 633 4687
Fax (+353) 66 712 0386
Tel (+353) 66 712 0399
E-mail [email protected]
Website www.kerrydeaf.com
Facebook www.facebook.com/kerrydeaf
Twitter https://twitter.com/kerrydeaf
KDRC provides services to Deaf and hard of hearing people at county level
and contributes to national issues of equality, access and rights.