Texas Bill, wish there was thunder here. It is slow and patient process. But here is an update.
The particulars are quite simple. MaineGirl on a previous visit to the DR found a bright young girl who was deaf and was certainly not getting the support, education and training that she deserved. MaineGirl's husband is deaf, so, through her experience, had the background and knowledge to get Damalbi tested in order to find the extent of her deafness. There are two tests and both of these showed that Damalbi has no physical 'pieces' in place to be able to hear. What this means, is that hearing aids, or operations will not improve the situation. MaineGirl started a fund (Project Damalbi) administered by the church in order to attract donations to start getting Damalbi the education that she needs. MaineGirl also supported Damalbi and her family by teaching and training basic skills at home.
For Jaquelin, her mother works for me and Jacquelin is also a very bright young girl with the same prognosis as Damalbi. Jaquelin lives close to us and she comes over to play with my little granddaughter. As time went on, I asked on the forum if anyone knew of what we could do to help her. Through the forum MaineGirl and I got together and started the discussions to set together a more formalized organization with a charter and a vision for Project Damalbi.
Where we are now, is that both girls are tested and Jaquelin has been accepted in a school with an appropriate learning environment for her. We've received a number of generous donations from interested and generous people. We've received tremendous help from specifically Hillbilly, setting up times for tests and speaking to the Doctors in advance, so that the whole testing process was easy for both MaineGirl and myself.
We will be transferring the Project Damalbi fund from the US to the Dominican Republic and will place it in a conservative investment with proper oversight in order to try and secure education for 'our' two girls and in future, possibly for others.
The School for the Deaf in Puerto Plata is well supported by the Rotary. With more help from a Rotary member, we managed to get Jaquelin placed in the school. It is a small school with only around 30 students and the school administrator is a wonderful person. Jacquelin will be attending a school that is right for her, for the first time in September. She has been accepted and most of the arrangements have been sorted out.
So, besides the administrative tasks that remain undone (building a website, transferring the fund, writing up vision and charters), we've pretty much managed to do what we can for the two girls. MaineGirl will investigate the school on a future visit for Damalbi, although it is quite a process to get the family, community and people around the girls, involved and committed.
We are learning as we go. The one thing that is clear, is that we would not have come this far without the support, knowledge sharing, and financial and other contributions from visitors, expatriates, Dominicans and just a whole bunch of wonderful people.
