We are supporting a project by Sense International, a non-governmental organisation that supports people with deafblindness and their families.
Deafblind is a combination of sight and hearing loss that affects a person’s daily life. Our project helps children and young people in Nepal with this complex disability to access healthcare and education.
Facing challenges
Deafblind children and young people in Nepal are extremely marginalised. A lack of understanding and education services, including specialised teacher training and learning materials, means that only 20 percent of deafblind children around the world attend primary school. Many children with deafblindness are not properly diagnosed which means they miss out on support to meet important developmental milestones, as well as access to hearing aids or glasses. As a result, these children are not prepared for education by the time they reach school age. This promotes the stigma of disability and the mistaken belief that children with disabilities cannot learn.
Home-based educators
With funding from Halcrow Foundation, Sense International is working with National Federation of the Deaf Nepal (NDFN) to help 50 children in Kathmandu with deafblindness access education. This involves funding home-based educators who work with the children and their parents and carers to develop skills that prepare them for school. It is common for children with deafblindness to also have physical disabilities like cerebral palsy, so the educators will help children access healthcare like physiotherapy too. We are also funding a sensory room in a local school equipped with sensory toys.
