Case Studies

Real life stories of deafblind people who have received support from Sense International (Latin America):

Juan — Bogotà, Colombia

Juan was tiny when he was born and developed slowly compared to other babies. His parents were devastated to learn that he was deafblind. They started to despair and saw little hope for him. When Juan was eight years old he was referred to Sense International's partner Ideas día a día in Bogotà — an education programme providing specialist services for deafblind and multiply disabled children. Here, Juan quickly learned to recognise letters and numbers, gained confidence and made many new friends.

Jessenia — Bogotà, Colombia

Jessenia is twelve years old and lives in Rincón, one of the poorest areas in Bogotà. She was born deaf, and when she was just three months old, Jessenia lost her eyesight. She has hypoxic encephalopathy, which has resulted in her having severe difficulties with mobility.

Until she was three years old and identified as deafblind, she spent most of her time confined to bed. The deafblind unit in Bogotà worked with her to develop her mobility and at five years old she was finally able to walk. The teachers at the unit have taught her how to use her hands to communicate with her family.

Surgery last year gave Jessenia limited vision and she can now see bright images. Jessenia really enjoys drawing and uses primary colours so she can see the wonderful pictures she creates.