Update (photos and video) on Deaf Burmese(Mynamar)

http://research.gallaudet.edu/sl/myanmar.html

The link contains update on donations distributed by Partners in Excellence with photos of students and their families and a Deaf Field Worker's report.

update on funds sent to deaf burmese (mynamar)

$2,300 have been raised by the Gallaudet community and $1,800 sent to Burma/Mynamar. Read this link for further information.

Deaf Irish Woman fights for her right to sit in a jury

a Deaf Irish woman was excluded to serve in a jury based on the rationale of a 20 something year old law that outlines specs who can't be eligible to be a Jurist - mental illness, blindness, old age, deafness, and so on. An Irish counterpart of America's Legal Aid (or ACLU?) is supporting Mrs Clarke's fight to be a jurist. The Irish Independent article also noted that in the States, these challenges were met but the British rejected them.

deaf parliament member in Nepal

news from WFD..

Nepal - Former President of Nepal National Federation of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NFDH), Raghav Bir Joshi elected to be the member of parliament

It is with wonderful news that the former President of NFDH Mr. Raghav Bir Joshi was elected to be a member of parliament for the Constitutional Assembly meeting for a two-year period, which is the first time in history in Nepal and also for the Asian region that a Deaf person is elected for the parliament. WFD wishes the best of luck for him in advocacy for the human rights of Deaf persons in Nepal.

deaf myanmar at the end of line.. literally..

from Dr Charles "Chip" Reilly:

PLEASE PASS THIS TO YOUR CIRCLES ASAP !!

An appeal for you to help deaf people who have been harmed by a terrible storm in Myanmar (South East Asia) formerly known as Burma (KB edit). Fortunately, we have a way to get your donation directly to deaf people there. During Cyclone Nagris, millions of people lost their homes and property. More than 100,000 people have died, and disease and starvation isspreading. As aid slowly arrives, deaf people are at the "end of the line", as they are judged of low value in that society. (Only 5% sent to school,few jobs, no interpreters). Please join us in donating.

From Paul Dudis, Richard Lytle, Sam Weber, OwenWrigley, and Charles & Jum Reilly. Help us show Myanmar that deaf people are as deserving as others... The donations will be collected by "Partners In Excellence", a charitableorganization helping deaf people around the world. Its founder, Richard Lytle, will ensure that the monies are sent to Myanmar swiftly.

Today please: 1. Write a check to "Partners in Excellence." Put 'for Myanmar' on byline of check. 2. Bring check to Charles Reilly (HMBS 422), Richard Lytle (CO 203), or PaulDudis (Fowler).

Or mail to Partners in Excellence, 4300 Tuckerman Street, University Park,MD 20782, USA 3.

Or send your donation on-line via PayPal to andthe donation will be transferred to Partners in Excellence. Handled byCharles Reilly. Note- Give us your name, email, and address, so we can send you a receipt.Your donation is tax deductible for people in the US.

Who will receive my donation? Your donation will be sent by Partners In Excellence to Dr. Owen Wrigley, arelief worker, in Myanmar. He will collaborate with Mr. S'Dow Mwight, aDeaf teacher and community leader, in identifying deaf people who wereimpacted by the cyclone. They will send video clips back to Gallaudet to show who gets your donation.

Is it urgent to act today? YES. From today's New York Times: "The situation has worsened in just two days," one shocked aid volunteer said as crowds of children mobbed his vehicle, their grimy hands reaching throughthe window for scraps of bread and clothing" and "Many cyclone refugees,crammed into monasteries, schools and temporary shelters after thedevastating storm, have gone down with diarrhea, dysentery and skininfections....It's time to deliver aid to save lives."

Please help now.

==================== A collaboration of Partners In Excellence: Empowering people- Changing the World

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

It will be in effect May 2008.

If you are curious of your rights as a disabled person, and do not know if your country signed to the Convention or its Optional Protocol, please click here.

To learn more about the Convention, what it is, click here and choose preferred language (scroll to bottom).

If you want to contact a Deaf or hard of hearing person who is aware of the UN Convention to discuss your rights as an individual receiving services, please go to World Federation of the Deaf (WFD)'s list of national and affiliated members to find your country's Deaf organization or association to make a contact.

What Is Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR)?

CBR is an approach to provide health and education in isolated rural areas in developing countries, to better reach adults and children who have disabilities who are unable to travel to cities or larger communities.

During the last twenty to thirty years of CBR activities sponsored by various international organizations including the World Health Organization and the United Nations, we have seen CBR evolve and operate many different ways relating to local cultures and types of conditions (environment degradation or prone to civil conflicts).

In the 1960s, public health and medical professionals operated on the medical model of treatment towards persons with disabilities. The rehabilitation model was new at the time, to assist those with disabilities and others rendered disabled from illness or injuries. Instead of institutions in cities where roads and/or other transport routes can be inaccessible, the village or township would have a facility with local patients and locally trained staff.

In the 1980s the social model - disabled people running the CBR themselves as staff, peers, trainers, and educators - slowly emerged. A paper in the United Kingdom exhibited some reluctance of able-bodied (non disabled) persons to receive disability awareness, sensitivity, and inclusions in the workplace as well as in society from disabled professionals. To this day, it is relatively common for an able-bodied person to train in the workplaces and receive better reception from able-bodied workers than disabled persons would.

A little more of history of the original form of CBR itself: Einar Helander, who is called the "father of CBR" who worked with the WHO and other professionals in rehabilitation recognized that there were many people with disabilities in developing countries who were not getting the health services they required. The rehabilitation professionals transferred the equipment and knowledge from the developed countries to underdeveloped and developing countries.

In 1970s there was recognition and understanding by professionals and WHO that the transfer did not work due to different cultural values and lack of available accommodations.

Over the years, WHO, UN, and other international organizations such as Handicap International implemented policy and provided funding to interested countries to establish facilities and encourage local people to be hired and trained in not only health and rehabilitation, but also to operate the facility and liaise with the larger communities or cities for resources and information purposes.

The CBR approach was also intended to be a place for persons with disabilities to interact and share their experiences. The community benefits from the experiences of persons with disabilities and vice versa. However, many CBRs continue to be health oriented and services are provided by able bodied staff and volunteers.