A Vietnamese girl and her sister at the deaf school
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be unable to communicate with the ones you love most? Or how it would feel if you were unable to hear or speak, while others viewed you like you were intellectually impaired or a burden on society without any potential?
During a recent visit to Vietnam, I began to reflect on these questions after I had the privilege of meeting some incredibly intelligent and gifted people who are deaf. They have opened my eyes and my heart.
Orphan’s Promise has the privilege of partnering with three inspirational organizations who are working with the deaf in Central Vietnam. These organizations, with some support from Orphan’s Promise and its donors, are:
- Establishing a deaf education center to teach deaf children and their parents how to use sign language so they can communicate with each other, many for the first time
- Providing employment for the deaf and teaching them how to run their own bakery and restaurant
- Establishing a school for the deaf in a remote rural area to teach children, some who are already adolescents, how to use sign language to communicate effectively for the first time in their lives
While in Vietnam, I had the privilege to meet with some children who will attend this new rural school for the deaf. They were gathered at the school premises, waiting to meet with their teacher. I watched the bewildered faces of the three older children as the two deaf teachers demonstrated how there were able to communicate with each other in sign language. It was like something they had never seen before, or perhaps even imagined was possible…that they could now have a language of their own to communicate effectively with friends and family. I soon realized that to learn sign language was an opportunity these children may never have had if this deaf school was not there.
Deaf children who will all soon learn to sign for the first time, at a new school that Orphan’s Promise is supporting for the deaf in rural central Vietnam
One of the teachers who met with the children at the school was an incredibly gifted lady who had graduated from university and just wanted to give back to those who were deaf like her. She was an inspiration to me and such a wonderful example to bring hope for a brighter future to these children!
I can only try to imagine how crushing it must feel to be a deaf adult and have limited ways to communicate with others; or to be a child whose self-esteem is shattered by others who see them as less intelligent because they can’t hear. One thing I do know, is that many who have been involved in these Orphan’s Promise sponsored projects for the deaf are being touched by His love, communicating more effectively, growing in self-esteem, and realizing their God-given potential for the first time.
I am so grateful and honoured to have been able to spend some time with the deaf in Vietnam, and with these three outstanding project partners who have been such a blessing in so many ways. I am also thankful for all of the generous Orphan’s Promise donors who have faithfully given to these deaf projects, but perhaps never had the opportunity to meet the precious lives they are impacting. Through this visit and the amazing people I met, what I can say is that your sowing, sacrifice, and prayer, is helping to make a big difference in the lives of the deaf in central Vietnam! Together, we would like to thank you all.
