Filipino deaf watching the news on TV
27/10/2010 09:00:00
For the deaf community in Cebu – Central Philippines, watching the local news on TV is not unthinkable. They watch the news and act on it!
The Gualandi Volunteer Service Program (GVSP), a partner of the national volunteering program of VSO Bahaginan, aims to empower the deaf community by advocating for inclusion and assisting the deaf in their quest to participate in the development of their own communities. Over the years, GVSP’s work continues to receive positive feedback as it works to fulfill the goal of strengthening their access to information and communication at the local and national levels, and the promotion of the Filipino Sign Language (FSL).
So, how is it possible? A hearing volunteer of GVSP appears on a TV inset at the lower right corner of the television screen allowing the deaf to understand the news through watching the FSL interpreter. Hearing volunteers commit five times a week and are trained to interpret as effectively as possible.
Because of this work, deaf people in Cebu and in the region are able to appropriately respond to local events, thereby, increasing the opportunities of deaf people to participate in development as volunteers. They no longer just sit with the family and pretend that they understand the news. They can now interact with their family while watching the news and react to it by doing something in their schools or in their work places. On weekends, deaf people find time to interact with each other and have a discussion about what they learned from the news. GVSP maximizes these opportunities by channeling the energies of deaf people for various volunteering opportunities. The project is also able to influence their own families and relatives in mainstreaming disability.
VSO Bahaginan's national volunteering program is supporting disabled peoples organization (DPOs) in capacity building. Kabahagi Fellows – who are volunteer mentors – assist in the training needs of DPO leaders and disabled persons. The Kabahagi Fellowship is an innovation of the National Volunteering Program, where people (including persons with disabilities) are able to share their skills through volunteering and help in contributing to VSO’s goal of fighting poverty and disadvantage.
