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Promoting Deaf Equality
There are thousands of citizens of Trinidad and Tobago who were either born with a significant level of hearing loss, or who lost their hearing early in life.
However, they are systematically disadvantage in many areas, not only with their inability to hear, but by the lack of awareness of their needs and rights. They have lower standards of educational achievement, limited career opportunities, and restricted access to essential information and services, including healthcare and legal protection.
The most prominent reasons for this situation is a general lack of Deaf Awareness. Too few hearing people are aware of the Deaf Community, their language and their needs, and fewer still can actually communicate using Sign Language.
To this end, our goals are as follows:
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To open avenues for Deaf/Hearing impaired people to have equal access to quality of education, from pre-school to postgraduate level, in a language they can understand;
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Ensure that they are provided with the proper healthcare (particularly those with HIV/AIDS-related illnesses) and legal services
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Increase the training, assessment and availability of skilled sign language interpreters within the education system, on local news broadcasts and wherever else they are needed
WHAT WE DO
Homework Centers
Many of the social ills that are problematic to the nurturing of our children are the very issues that will be their fate if not addressed and dealt with while they are at an impressionable stage of their lives.
In order to address some of these issues, we are working with community-based groups to design Homework Centers to ensure that children are provided with the necessary assistance needed to persevere and complete their education.
The Homework Centers will provide the following services among others:
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Remedial Reading Program
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Vacation Camps
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Alleviate the distress caused by the exposure to crime, homelessness, unemployment, poverty and education fallout