Assist kids with hearing disabilities in Palestine

The work of the Dorotee sisters is really precious for the children with hearing disabilities who attend the Effetà Institute. In Palestine, serious political and social instability does not allow the government to provide adequate social, health and educational services; this aggravates the situation of disabled children who, without the support of structures suited to their needs, are marginalized and discriminated because they are perceived by society as bringer of misfortunes. In this situation it is easy to understand why the Istituto Effetà is considered a unique reality in Palestine. The Institute, through its specialized services, proposes to offer concrete solutions to the problem of the deafness. The nuns, assisted by international specialists, have defined advanced training protocols, including one based on lab reading; this method makes students able to be autonomous even outside the Institute thanks to the interpretation of the lips of people who, not knowing the LIS (Language of Signs), is expressed with verbal sounds.

The support offered by nuns to children and their families, however, is much broader and goes beyond the school. In fact, in these months training sessions have been organized for families that focus their attention on the awareness of the problem on the part of children and parents and on accompanying them in addressing the economic and relational difficulties.

In September, our project leader Gaetano will go to Palestine and will have the opportunity to visit the Institute, checking the progress achieved by children and retrieving detailed information on the activities carried out.

In the meantime, we thank all those who believe in this project and who have contributed to guaranteeing the right to education to hearing-impaired children: above all in a reality like the Palestinian one, a degree can really make a difference!