Published Wed, Oct 17, 18. Written by .
Just 25 years ago there was no deaf community in Bohol. Even years after IDEA began bringing deaf children into school, a community for the deaf didn’t exist. IDEA continued to work towards creating a community for all deaf people in the area.
To have a group of people become a community, leadership is required to create a welcoming atmosphere. It took many years for the first deaf people who became involved to become old enough to assume their roles in leadership. Only then were we finally able to have the Bohol Deaf Community.
This community is now made up of perhaps 1000 people including spouses and children of the deaf. IDEA has assumed the role of helping develop the leadership for this community. There have been two main areas of this development effort. First, one has been to encourage the deaf toward independence. Second, to teach them to look towards the other members for support. It’s like the old saying, “All for One and One for All”.
The basic components that IDEA has built into this community are:
ANOTHER KIND OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Everyone here at IDEA is continuing the work to cultivate a community that supports the deaf in the Philippines. We want to make sure every deaf person in the area is accepted as a part of the whole community. The education and training IDEA provides within this deaf community allows more deaf people to be immersed in the hearing community as well.