50 Deaf Children In Mexico Need Sign Language

Although school may be out for the summer, Laura and Fernanda never tired in their desire to learn new things, especially when it involves one of their favourite pastimes, learning to sew and embroider. During the early part of August, and before the school opened for the new school year, they attended school for a week to take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about fashion design, pattern making and sewing. Most everyone else, teachers and students alike, were at home resting up and enjoying their summer break while waiting for the new fall term to start, but Laura and Fernanda knew they had more they wished to learn! 

Accomplished designer, Aurelio Garcia Selgado, made a trip from Irapuato to tutor both young women, offer his advice and pass along valuable skills and techniques. As you will see from the photos, the result was two very well designed and trendy dresses styled for young women of Laura and Fernanda's age group. Dresses they would enjoy wearing themselves and they knew others would love to wear also. Their future goals include a career in fashion design which involves learning the process from start to finish and creating the designs with their own hands. This is a lofty goal indeed! These two young women know how to dream big!

At the end of each regular school day after academic classes are finished, Laura and Fernanda have also been studying sewing in one of three Vocational Training Workshops offered at EEE. The sewing workshop has been a means for Laura and Fernanda and their classmates to learn valuable job skills to prepare them for employment in the outside hearing world . 

Their big dreams didn't start with fashion design however. Laura and Fernanda, along with other classmates, are very near completion of their on-line high school courses at Escuela de Educación Especial de San Miguel de Allende and will receive their graduation diplomas in a few short months. Both have been studying diligently and with the help of dedicated teachers, who explain and guide their lessons in Mexican Sign Language and written Spanish, will achieve something that few who are Deaf in Mexico ever achieve; they will graduate high school! 

It is through the generousity of donors like you that Laura and Fernanda have been able to pursue their dreams of achieving a good level of education as well as learning how to begin to prepare for a career in fashion design. Thank you to all who have helped them and others at the school. You are offering hope and inspiration to young people who are Deaf; helping them to be all they can be and allowing them to learn what they love.

Links:

• School's Website

Being a girl in her preteen years usually means dealing with many “growing up” challenges. With Angelica these challenges don’t appear quite so obvious, at least on the surface, although having the challenge of deafness might be the one factor that overrides all others. Angelica will turn 13 years old on the 28th of August. She had a late start to school, arriving at Escuela de Educacion Especial (EEE) two years ago with very little sign language or reading skills. For children who are Deaf these skills are inexplicably entwined.

Without the introduction of language at an early age, usually between the age of two and three years, all children will begin to loose the ability to advance to the reading stage of development. As time passes, the gap continues to grow. As we all know, hearing children learn to talk by listening to and mimicking others. Likewise Deaf children who have others communicating with them in sign language are also able to develop the ability to process language, and if this is achieved at a young age, they too will learn to read and later to write. Getting an early start with sign language is essential to achieving future academic success. 

Angelica may not have had this advantage but we know she has many other talents, that if nurtured, will brighten her future. In addition to providing an education, teaching her important life skills and introducing vocational training at the appropriate time will help her become more independent as she moves into adulthood. An enthusiastic and caring child, Angelica loves school, learning new things and spending time with her friends. Angelica attends primary classes with younger children but fits in well. Her best friends are Miguelito and Maricruz, both eight year olds. They happily help her to learn new word signs and with arithmetic. EEE provides Angelica with the opportunity to spend time with others who understand her and can communicate with her. She comes to school with her mother by bus from a community nearby. She has two sisters and her father works in the United States and she hopes to visit the United States someday. Angelica loves to draw in her spare time and wants to be an artist when she grows up. Her favourite subjects at school are arithmatic and Spanish and, not surprisingly, her absolutely favourite thing is to be with her school friends. 

Please join us in helping to bring more children to Escuela de Educacion Especial so they too will have the opportunity to learn Mexican Sign Language and to read and write Spanish. Education and vocational training are these children's ticket to living and working more independently as they grow into adults. I’m sure you will agree, all Deaf children deserve the opportunity to succeed and live a fulfilling life.