HOPE SIGNS

Hope Signs strives to enhance the quality of life for the deaf in developing countries by providing them with access to language, education, and vocational training.In our travels, we have embarked in a story that unfolds everyday in developing countries. A story that speaks loud of the struggles of an unreached population that is yet to be provided with a language, that seeks an identity as a sub cultural group, and that screams for a uniform and standard form of communication. We choose to be on the other side of that daily unfolding story. The story of a brave population that does not see barriers, that does not see the lack of resources as an excuse to stop educating their future generation, a needed population. The story of the roughly 71 million deaf individuals in these developing countries speaks to how access to a language can give the power of identity, community, and culture. It is a common misconception, that people with hearing loss are stupid, mute, and unsuccessful. Albert Einstein said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." The truth is that people with hearing loss have the same range of intelligence as the general hearing population. Here at Hope Signs instead of focusing on an individual's hearing loss, we choose to enlighten ourselves on their unique qualities. Through our teacher trainings, deaf camps, and centers of educational reinforcement we will change the cultural mindset towards the deaf from all around the world for the better. Without the targeted initiatives of Hope Signs these people will remain in the continual narrative of ignorance and cultural subjugation.