Hearing Impaired - SERVE Afghanistan

E.M.A.D. - Enabling and Mobilsing Afghan Disabled

S.H.I.P. - SERVE's Hearing Impaired Programme

Disability

S.H.I.P. - SERVE's Hearing Impaired Programme

SERVE's Hearing Impaired Project (S.H.I.P.) was first established in September 1992 in Peshawar in response to the growing needs of deaf Afghan refugees. For two years the programme successfully provided vocational training, sign language, literacy training and audiological services to deaf Afghans (children and adults) in Peshawar and in the surrounding refugee camps. Realising the greater need inside Afghanistan, the project moved it's work to Jalalabad in 1995.

During a survey in a nearby district SurkhRod, a significant number of deaf people were found along with many other people with different disabilities. S.H.I.P. decided to widen its scope to include programmes for people of all disabilities while maintaining its own speciality in deaf education and rehabilitation.

SERVE's Activities:

Education - A school for the deaf in Jalalabad city, home-based classes for deaf girls, and classrooms for deaf in village schools, providing special education to deaf children.
Sign language documentation - a third edition of S.H.I.P.'s Regional Sign Language Dictionary was completed in 2001. S.H.I.P. is currently working together with 2 other agencies upgrading the Afghan Sign Language Dictionary with over 2000 concepts.
Deaf clubs - S.H.I.P. provides a place and an opportunity for deaf adults to interact and socialise with other deaf people.
Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR)- local village committees, together with volunteers are actively involved in their own communities in raising awareness, referrals, integrating disabled children to schools, organising vocational training and providing rehabilitative training to disabled people in their homes.

Muhammad Isa - This is Muhammad Isa. When he was 2 years old, a rocket hit his home and exploded close to him. After this traumatic incident, his parents realised that he could not hear or speak. Isa, at 10 now, is fluent in sign language and participates actively in his class. Sign language has helped him express himself in a better way!

Deaf Men Can Marry Too! - When Asadullah, a deaf man, was 18 years old, he lived in a village in Surkhrod. He was known as being illiterate and some people called him names. However, his family managed to find a girl for him and after much discussion a date was set for his engagement. On that day the relatives of his fiancée started to voice objections as they were thinking that Asadullah was useless because of his deafness. Arguments went back and forth. Those who knew him defended him, and told everyone present that Asadullah is a member of the deaf club in his village and that he could read and write. A piece of paper was found and Asadullah proved his abilities much to the amazement of the crowd - he was then allowed to marry happily!

Asadullah is now a full-fledged member of his community. His dignity and self-confidence has taken a leap forward.