EDUCATION
by Barbara White, president, International Deaf Partnerships, Inc.
Personal Discovery Camp
International Deaf Partnerships and Las Voces del Silencio create an educational and recreational experience.
D
eaf children and youth are often left out of community and recreational activities due to communication barriers. In November 2014, an organization in the U.S. and a school in Jocotenango collaborated to offer a completely accessible camp experience for these youth. The program was sponsored by International Deaf Partnerships (IDP), a non-profit from Maryland that provided funds and trained professionals, most of whom were deaf themselves. IDP worked with Las Voces Del Silencio (LAVOSI), a school established in 2009 for deaf children and youth in Jocotenango. The two-week camp offered educational and recreational activities, emphasizing a team-building
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program called Personal Discovery. The program was designed as a “train the trainer� model. In the first week, eight deaf Guatemalan youths learned to become camp staff. They practiced how to teach and coach swimming, softball and soccer, and learned various crafts, Personal Discovery activities and camp management. The second week was the actual camp with 23 deaf youths attending the LAVOSI school. The campers slept in the classrooms at the school, ate meals cooked by parent volunteers, participated in a full schedule of sports, Personal Discovery, swimming lessons, arts and crafts
and education classes to polish their math, literacy, sign language and geography skills. In addition, the group went on field trip to nearby Finca Filadelfia Coffee Farm and to Monterrico Beach for the day. International Deaf Partnerships is planning to offer the camp again this November with more deaf youth. IDP is seeking sponsors for the camp and monetary and in-kind donations. Digital cameras and laptops are welcome donations so the students can learn photography and computer skills. Sleeping bags and camping equipment are also needed for an overnight camping trip.
For more information about Voces Del Silencio please contact Alvaro De Leon Espinoza, adeleones@hotmail.com or Alvaro De Leon Cruz, leocruzalde@hotmail.com or tel: 5024548-7043.