Education Mexico Project #31124

50 Deaf Children In Mexico Need Sign Language

by Escuela de Educacion Especial de San Miguel de Allende AC

Project Report | May 16, 2022
10 Years of Improving Children's Futures

By Danita Brisson | Volunteer

The upcoming 2022-23 school year marks the 10th anniversary of the Escuela de Educación Especial de San Miguel de Allende A.C. (EEESMA). This significant milestone is being commemorated through a year-long calendar of 10 special events, some familiar and some new and exciting.

Our first special event showcases both the familiar and the new. We are launching a design contest to revamp our logo. As we reflect on the school’s growth over the past decade and prepare for the evolving needs of the future, we want to ensure that our community understands who we are, what we do and whom we serve. Our new logo will be a powerful visual tool to communicate that message.

A prize of $2,000 Mexican pesos or US$100 is being offered, along with a sterling silver pin bearing a rendering of the logo, created by the students in the school’s accomplished jewelry making workshop. The contest is open to all. Submissions will be accepted until June 15, 2022. The winning design will be announced on June 30, 2022. Full contest details are available on our website at www.eeesma.com.

The other nine events planned for the “Celebration of the Decade” include an incredible on-line silent auction in October, an initiative honoring the Deaf community on Day of The Deaf in November and of course our magnificent Robert Burns Supper in January. Watch for those announcements as you won’t want to miss them!

Exact dates and pertinent details will also appear on our website as they are finalized. We hope you will join us for some or all of the planned events as we honor all our former and current students and their families, staff, volunteers, and supporters whose commitment, dedication and hard work have paved the way that we continue to follow today.

EEESMA was established in August of 2012 by a local group of concerned citizens. There were then, and still are, no publicly funded schools for Deaf children in the State of Guanajuato. Their only option was to attend public school with hearing students, where they received no sign language instruction and very limited support. EEESMA was founded to help deaf children in San Miguel and the surrounding areas to become literate, independent, and productive citizens who set and achieve life goals. The school would not exist without the donations, grants and fundraising programs supported by private donors in Mexico and abroad, for which we are eternally grateful.

If you know of a child who experiences hearing loss, please reach out for help as soon as possible. Early intervention and language development for a deaf child will end their quiet isolation, strengthen their linguistic, cognitive and psychosocial skills and help facilitate their integration within their families and communities.

When we improve children’s futures we improve our own, and that’s worth celebrating!

Links:

Guidelines and Information

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May 4, 2022
It's Spring! Let's Get Outside!

By Sharon Doherty | Project Leader

Golfing Fun!

Activities at EEESMA have been plentiful. Most recently the students have enjoyed some educational and enjoyable field trips. Please check out the photos and the video that accompany this report.

A Day of Golf at Ventanas Golf Club

All students, teachers and staff had a fun outing practicing their putting and driving, followed by a picnic lunch. Smiles all around!

Visiting Rancho Los Labradores

The youngest students, accompanied by their teachers, visited the farm replete with burros, goats, chickens, rabbits, turtles and a whole lot more.

Some Examples of Recent Fun Raising!

Smiles, Signs and Salmon Luncheon Fundraiser

The lunch was proudly served by the students themselves followed by a special performance of "Imagine" in Mexican Sign Language.

BRAVO ALUMNOS!!!

1st Annual Robert Burns Supper Fundraiser

January 16th marked the first San Miguel de Allende publicly attended supper at The Restaurant, to honour the most famous Scot poet.

Donnie Masterton outdid himself by preparing the most scrumptious roast beef with neeps and tatties supper. And to top it off there was haggis, piped in by our new friend from Mexico City, Rafa Gutierrez. Many of the fellows dressed in kilts and the gals in tartan sashes. There was music, poems, whiskey toasts, and Highland dancing.

We can hardly wait till next year's celebration! Please mark January 25th, 2023, on your calendar. You won't want to miss the most fun fundraising event to grace San Miguel de Allende in a very looong time. Lang may yer lum reek!

Announcing the New Transportation Project

We have begun to move forward in our quest to provide transportation to the very special Deaf children and young people attending EEESMA and residing in communities outside of San Miguel de Allende. The very best way to achieve this goal is for EEESMA to have its own passenger van and driver. The support for the purchase and running of a vehicle has been strong, but we still have a way to go. Thank you for considering helping us achieve this lofty goal. Watch for the new GlobalGiving Project coming soon!

And thank you everyone for your continued support in many other important ways, volunteers included, we couldn't do what we do without you. Wishing you the best that Spring 2022 has to offer!

More Golf Fun!

Visiting the Ranch

Student Servers at Luncheon

The young ones perform

Haggis enjoyed by all!

Links:

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Jan 4, 2022
Ringing in a New Year with Gratitude

By Sharon Doherty | Project Leader

Celebration of Dia de los Sordos

A day each November is set aside as a special day to commemorate Day of the Deaf in Mexico. This year at EEESMA it was a low key affair with film, art, games and grilled burgers and hot dogs served outdoors. This day gives the students an opportunity to focus on what makes their Deaf community unique, celebrate their language (Mexican Sign Language) and provide awareness to the hearing community as to what it means to be Deaf. For example:

Why big D vs little d? A person who identifies as being Deaf with an uppercase D is indicating that they are culturally Deaf and belong to the Deaf community. Most Deaf people are sign language users who have been deaf all of their lives. For Deaf people in Mexico, Spanish is a second language and as such they may have a limited opportunity to learn to read and write Spanish. And this is certainly the case for many children in Mexico where a school providing instruction in sign language is, in the majority of cases, unavailable to them.

Deaf Culture Social Club was organized for the first time by the older students of EEESMA on November 13th. Activities were proposed, discussed and decided upon by the students themselves. Included were chess, Jenga, fuzbol, movies, video games, and just plain old socializing! Future activities being considered are films with closed captioning, motivational speakers with sign language translation, and perhaps even music appreciation. The goal is to have the students responsibly organize their own social activities on a regular basis, outside of school, in a safe environment , enabling them to share time with other young people within their own Deaf Community. Let us applaud them and wish them success!

We wish to introduce Elidia When it was time to bring on a new teacher's assistant, the Board of Trustees at EEESMA decided that the best way forward was to hire someone with acceptable skills and credentials living in the San Miguel community. It would be necessary to train that person, teach them sign language, and help them develop the special education skills required; all while on the job. No small task. A collaboration with NGO, Jóvenes Adelante, introduced EEESMA to Elidia. Having recently graduated from university with a Degree in Education, she is currently assisting Juaniz, Director and primary school teacher, with her young charges. Please join us in welcoming Elidia to EEESMA

Celebration of Dia de los Sordos

Social Club

Elidia, Teacher's Assistant

Links:

Students Greeting for the Holidays and New Year

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