We are Sense International

Sense International works in partnership to provide services and raise awareness of the needs of deafblind people and their families so they can connect, participate and contribute to their communities.

28 November 2011

Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) takes first steps to introduce vaccines against cervical cancer and rubella

GAVI have decided to open a funding window for the rubella vaccine.  

Availability of funding for rubella vaccine will prevent the sight and hearing loss, along with other disabilities at birth, that result from rubella infection in early pregnancy.  It gives a much-needed boost to countries' efforts to eliminate both measles and rubella.

It means that 57 countries eligible for support can apply for funding to introduce these vaccines into their national immunisation schedules, with support available from the World Health Organisation.  Sense International works in four of those countries, India, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and is planning to lobby the governments in those countries to apply for funding to set up a rubella vaccination programme.  

Congenital Rubella Syndrome remains a major public health problem with an estimated 112 000 cases occurring globally, of which 90 000 are in "GAVI eligible" countries.

While large-scale rubella vaccination during the last decade has enabled the elimination of rubella and CRS in the Western Hemisphere (the Americas) and several European countries, the current burden of CRS in Africa, South-East Asia and the Western Pacific regions is still thought to be high.

Sense's own rubella immunisation project is developing strategies to inform ethnic minority groups in the UK who are particularly vulnerable to rubella infection, to encourage them to take up the MMR immunisation. 

Visit the GAVI website to read the press release. 

21 November 2011

Sense in the City Quiz

BBC Sports Presenter Mike Bushell and head chocolatiers from Paul A. Young, Michael Lowe and Sam Smallman, joined the teams at our 6th Sense in the City Quiz on Friday 11 November.

Mike Bushell hosted the sports round, and the chocolatiers hosted the sensory round, giving participants the chance to enjoy smelling and tasting their fine chocolate, guessing the flavours, the countries of origin, and the percentage of cocoa.

The event was hosted by our corporate partner Lombard at their RBS offices on Bishopsgate in the City in London. The impressive glass building was the setting for the quiz, with the hosts very generously underpinning the costs for the evening.

Nine teams from a range of our corporate partners participated. Companies taking part included KPMG, Slaughter & May, Lombard, Iron Mountain, Birketts, RARE and Knadel.

The eventual winners were Knadel, who beat previous winners RARE into second place by two points. They took away the coveted Sense in the City shield.

The event raised £4500 in total, with a raffle and other activities raising over £1000 on the night.

20 October 2011

Sense CEO appointed to key international role

Sense and Sense International Chief Executive, Gill Morbey, was voted in as the new President of Deafblind International (Dbi) this month at the 15th Dbi World Conference in Brazil.

Gill, who takes up the role in addition to her current CEO position, starts the first of her possible two, four-year terms with Dbi with immediate effect.

Gill said; "I feel proud to be appointed as the new President of Dbi. It is a huge honour both for me personally and indeed for Sense. My role involves bringing together some hugely talented people and wonderful organisations to promote the interests of deafblind people across the globe.

"Part of my new role is also to help drive the strategic plan which includes promoting practice and innovation through network groups, supporting the sharing of knowledge through conference activities and providing a range of high quality advocacy work. I'm sure there lies some exciting and challenging times ahead but I know the energy, skills and enthusiasm of all the people involved in Dbi, as well as the member organisations, will stand us in good stead."

Deafblind International was founded over 30 years ago and is the world association promoting services for deafblind people. It is the umbrella organisation for approximately 40 principal deafblind organisations round the world, bringing together deafblind people and their families, professionals, researchers and administrators to raise awareness of deafblindness.  You can read more information on the Deafblind International website.

7 October 2011

 The Sense International Corporate team has been busy with recent fundraising activities. Here are some of the highlights...

• Iron Mountain partnership launch
• Dragon Boat Race 2011
• Base 2 Stay raises over £5,000 

21 September 2011

 The article is about a deafblind unit at Kilimani school in East Africa and features Louice Ouko. It was written by Nanjinia Wamuswa and appeared in the Kenyan newspaper The Standard on Saturday 17 September.

School where deafblind make sense of the world

by Nanjinia Wamuswa

Louice Adhiambo is deaf and blind. When travelling in public vehicles, she is always curious to know passengers sitting next to her. She touches their hands, chest, forehead, hair, chin and back.

This way, she identifies the sex of her neighbour. However, the 17-year- old’s actions - the sole means of communication - mostly startles passengers. Many recoil and move to another seat, sometimes eyeing her suspiciously.

To save the situation, her mother, Ms Jane Ouko has to explain to passengers about her daughter’s dilemma. "Louice is deaf and blind and her eyes seem to be in her hands. It is the reason she touches people to get a clue who they are.

Sadly people do not understand and will behave strangely towards her," says her mother. These are some of the major challenges Louice and other deaf and blind people experience daily. They live in a world of their own. Geoffrey Atieli, director Sense International East Africa  (Siea), a charity organisation that provides expert advice and specialist services for the deaf and blind, says many people act weirdly because they do not know the existence of deaf and blind people.

He says, "Deaf and blind people are there though the number is small. Society needs to be sensitised about the presence of deaf and blind people. Despite their difficulties they can be empowered through special education to become resourceful people in society."A visit to the deaf and blind unit at Kilimani Primary School to see how deaf and blind pupils are empowered and prepared for the future reveals what happens in the world of these very special children.

At the unit shoes are left outside. This is because children pick objects from the floor and put in their mouths. Floors are kept clean all the time. According to Rose Kaati, the officer in charge of the unit, pupils are taught in different sessions.

On some days the children are trained in orientation and mobility, pre-academics and adaptive physical education. During break time, they are allowed to play with the able ones. Kaati says, "We let them play and interact with others to develop friendship".

Early intervention

A teacher, Mary Kwamboka, helps guide the pupils on how to use Braille and sign language. Children are very sensitive and realise immediately the presence of a strange person mostly through smell.

The unit has 14 deaf and blind children, the oldest being 17 years and the youngest 22 months. The staff is not enough, consisting of only six teachers, one teacher aid and a housemother. "This situation requires each child assigned to an individual teacher for close attention all the time," says Kwamboka.

She says children arrive at the unit withdrawn, disillusioned and without a hint at how they can communicate. After going through several sessions they can play, communicate and do many other activities. They first consult with parents to identify the priorities of the child and then build on them. Ms Kaati says children once assessed and their status known need to start early because, "Early intervention stimulates their senses, making them useful."

Kwamboka says their job is a calling. They carry more than one pair of clothes since one may be required to change. Tutors can find themselves lying on the ground, carrying out learning activities with the pupils. "Some pupils want the teacher to demonstrate first," she says. To the children, a teacher can assume numerous roles — mother, cook, nurse and cleaner.The challenged children are very sensitive to touch and need to be reassured of safety to undertake outdoor activities. Caregivers have to change the attitude of the child before playing with them. However, exercises have to be repeated a thousand times before they get it.

The unit block is self-contained. It has the kitchen, washrooms, bathroom, staffroom and dining room. Special facilities in the room include a standing board to aid pupils who can’t stand or sit without aid due to a weak spinal chord. It has bottles with different colours to stimulate vision. Some are filled with materials that produce different sounds to arouse hearing. There are rocking tables and rollers to help calm anyone who cries and cushions for lifting to build muscles.

Calendar of events

The most spectacular is the calendar of events with objects tied and hung onto it. It actually serves as the timetable. For example, a brush indicates brushing teeth, plate indicates it’s time for lunch, and a cup indicates time for tea or porridge. The child only needs to touch an object to realise the next activity. To avoid confusion, once the activity is over the object that represents it is removed.

Kwamboka is quick to add, "It however depends on the functioning level of the child. Each child has his own schedule". At the unit pupils go through different sessions, including pre-academics, where they learn Braille, building blocks and sign language.Orientation and mobility helps to move from place to place. Adaptive physical education, including backward roll, ball activities, rope skipping, guided running and bicycle riding help keep the children fit.

They are also provided with mattresses for gymnastics and massaging. The sensory room has surfaces with different textures for stimulating hand communication, bells for hearing and sparkling lights to help stimulate vision.
Works in the garden include watering plants, weeding and planting . These activities help pupils to learn how crops come about. Recreational activities like making beads, sewing sweaters, making charcoal and food preparation also help spice up the youngsters’ lives.While in excursion they go for picnics, shopping and swimming . Teachers use all models of learning to help pupils learn as much as possible. The modes include finger spelling, sign language, mouth-hand-system, speech with supportive signs, eye contact and many others. And each language depends also on the capability of each pupil.

The unit does not have enough equipment and materials, for example therapy balls and Braille papers. They also need a physiotherapist to proffer special advice on how to work with children with special needs.  Teachers also need transport to help them visit pupils in their various homes. Kaati says, "Whenever they go home for holiday they return to school having forgotten everything they learnt."

Photo: Louice communicates with her mother using tactile sign language. 

5 September 2011

Sense International (India) wins India NGO award 

Sense International (India) has been declared the joint winner of the Regional Award (West) for medium-sized organisations at the India NGO Awards, 2010.
The Awards, which are held by The Resource Alliance, in association with The Rockefeller Foundation, honour Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) that have adopted good standards and practices while implementing their programmes.

The Regional Award (West) recognises professional management, innovation in local resource mobilization, and the effectiveness of the Sense International (India)’s activities in improving the lives of the people they serve.

The award was accepted by Akhil Paul, Director, Sense International (India) at the awards ceremony in New Delhi on 5th August, 2011. This helps bring into limelight the cause of deafblindness which would not be possible without the continuous and dedicated support of all our partners and funders.

Photo: Sense International (India) Director Akhil Paul (right) receiving the award. 

29 July 2011

Young reporters visit Sense International’s partner in Tanzania

In June 2011, the Delegation of the European Union to Tanzania hosted a visit by three young reporters. The reporters, from Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, had won the 2010 Young Reporters Against Poverty Competition organised by the European Commission and European Journalism Centre. The purpose of the competition is to raise interest in development issues. 

After reporting on the European Development Days in Brussels during December 2010, which were also attended by President Jakaya Kikwete of the United Republic of Tanzania, the reporters visited several EU supported projects in Tanzania.

One of the arranged visits in Dar-es-Salaam was to the deafblind unit at Buguruni School for the Deaf, a partner of Sense International on 22nd June 2011. In addition to the three young reporters and a representative from the European journalism centre, the visit involved the two deafblind students and their parents, the school headteacher and teacher, representatives from the European Union Delegation and Sense International in Tanzania. 

After a warm welcome from the headteacher, the guests visited the deafblind unit where the teacher in charge was carrying-out craft project work with deafblind students in the classroom. The visit included a discussion on the work of Sense International in Tanzania, various questions the reporters asked about the classroom activities, viewing the work and hearing the parent’s experience of parenting deafblind children in the home environment. The parents commented on the remarkable changes they observe in their child’s reading, number counting, taking care of themselves, being independent and doing art and crafts work. 

Photos: Serena Bertaina (European Union)

Thank you to the European Union for the partnership with Sense International and local partners to support deafblind people in Tanzania and thank you to all involved for making the visit possible. 

14 April 2011

A tribute to Grace Muhumba

We are sad to announce the death of Grace Muhumba, Sense International’s Development Manager in Tanzania. She died on 20 March 2011, aged 59, after battling Myeloma (cancer of the plasma cells) for a little over two years. 
Grace was a pioneer of programmes for deafblind people in Tanzania. In 1993, with the support of Penny May Kamau of the Federation of the Swedish Deafblind, she set up a unit for four deafblind children at Uhuru Mchanganyiko Primary School in Dar es Salaam and was later appointed as a schools inspector in the city. 

Grace joined Sense International in February 2006 as its first Development Manager in Tanzania, where she was the sole staff member for the next two years.  At that time, Tanzania had around a dozen deafblind children in three schools with special units. Grace campaigned with the Tanzania Parents of Deafblind Children Association, schools for the deaf, and other organisations, to identify more children who could benefit from school programmes. 

By the time of her death, she had established, in conjunction with the Tanzanian government’s Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, and with European Union funding, nine schools across the country which have enrolled 41 deafblind children. With the support of Perkins International, a worldwide organisation dedicated to improving the lives of deafblind children, Grace coordinated training for 32 teachers, 19 housemothers and numerous school inspectors. 

She forged strong links with the Tanzanian government, taking her campaign for the education of deafblind children to the national parliament in Dodoma. Grace will be remembered by colleagues and parents as the greatest advocate for deafblind children and their families in Tanzania, and for her ever present smile and gracious hospitality.  

Grace leaves behind her husband, Edward Sutta, and five grown up children. 

14 February 2011

Sense International (Romania) celebrates 10 years of work for the benefit of deafblind children in Romania

After a decade of existence, Sense International (Romania) is proud to have accomplished a series of major achievements, such as supporting the Romanian authorities to set up the first ever services for deafblind people, having deafblindness recognised as a distinct disability by the Romanian legislation, developing ample screening, rehabilitation and educational programmes for children with multisensory impairments.
"When our work began, there were no services for deafblind people. The problems they were facing were unknown and there wasn't even a word in the dictionary for this type of disability, let alone specific programmes for the identification or assessment of these deficiencies..." says Cristiana Salomie, director of Sense International (Romania).

The Early Intervention programme is developed in partnership with national and local authorities, kindergartens and schools. Sense International (Romania) has supported the hearing screening and visual testing of 27,000 newborn babies and very young children, ensuring their opportunity to benefit from diagnosis and counselling. After the screening / testing stage, SI(R) has been actively involved in providing solutions to the problems identified. Since the project started, 53 children have been diagnosed with sensory impairments and began an individualised rehabilitation programme within the Early Intervention Support Centres developed by SI(R) in Bucharest, Oradea and Timisoara. Three multidisciplinary teams consisting of 11 early intervention workers and 12 health specialists ensure the rehabilitation of deafblind children through a series of techniques and therapies.

The Education for Deafblind/Multisensory Impaired Children is developed in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports. In 2010-2011 academic year, 140 deafblind/MSI children have been receiving specialised educational services in 15 Romanian state special schools. For the first time ever, a non-governmental organisation has trained, over the past 10 years, 85 special education teachers involved in the education of deafblind and multisensory impaired children. The programme provides these children with the opportunity to go to school and learn, using specific methods and techniques.

This programme was internationally acknowledged in 2009 by receiving two important awards during the ERSTE Foundation Social Integration Awards 2009: the Recognition Award and the Practitioners' Award.
DEAFBLINDNESS is a combination of hearing and visual impairments, at various degrees of manifestation that dramatically affects communication, mobility and access to information. Deafblindness was recognised by the Romanian legislation as a distinct disability in 2006.
Since 2001, Sense International (Romania) has been working in partnership with others – deafblind people, their families, carers and professional – to ensure that everyone facing challenges because of deafblindness has access to advice, opportunities and support.

About Sense International (Romania) – SI(R) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation, independent of any public or private institutions, with no political affiliation, established in 2001 and supported by the British organisation Sense International UK. SI(R) has become a key resource in the field of deafblindness in Romania, relying upon the deafblind child's fundamental right to education and early intervention – an opportunity in the rehabilitation process. Sense International (Romania) vision is a world where deafblind children and adults can become active members of the society.

For more information about Sense International (Romania) please contact:

Cristiana Salomie – Director of Sense International (Romania), phone: 0040 31 1075236
E-mail: csalomie@senseint.org.ro
Or visit their website www.surdocecitate.ro

8 December 2010

Sense International (India)

2011 Census to recognise deafblindness

Disability groups in India have been continuously lobbying to ensure that all disabilities are accurately recorded in the upcoming Census of 2011. Sense International (India) participated in discussions organised by disability rights group to raise its concerns. Though disability was included in the last Census of 2001, there were reports from across the country that the question was not even asked, that no awareness was created amongst the masses, and that the data collectors were neither trained nor sensitized. As a result, Census of 2001 came up with an inaccurate count of only 2.13 percent disabled people. The count was so low that even the Government was embarrassed. "A serious deficiency in the Census data occurred," they admitted in the XI^th Five Year Plan.

We are actively advocating for recognition of deafblindness in our legislations and policies. Due to non recognition there has been no government initiative to ascertain number of deafblind people in the country. Through Census if we are able to get deafblind people counted, based on the data collected we can ensure service provision for them through government schemes and policies. It will also support our advocacy initiatives to get deafblindness recognised in state legislation.

On 15 and 16 March 2010 we represented deafblindness in National Round table meeting on Census and Disability in Delhi. Census Commissioner was invited in the meeting to make it clear that this census should be more inclusive and all efforts should be made for proper representation of disability sector for appropriate counting. He asked the group to come out with useful suggestions to help the government in doing enumeration effectively. In that meeting Zamir Dhale, our advocacy officer specifically requested the commissioner to ensure that all disabilities are duly understood and hence effectively identified through trained enumerators. He informed him about the need for identification of deafblind in the country.

Appropriate representation in census questionnaire was critical for identification of deafblind population in the country. When it was decided to rework the disability question in Census questionnaire, we participated in the study conducted to reword the question and ensured that deafblindness was duly represented there. In addition we also shared our inputs at all levels for inclusion of deafblindness in the training manual being prepared for Census enumerators. As a result of our efforts Deafblindness was added under the ‘multiple disabilities' category in the draft training manual prepared for Census enumerators. This training manual will be used in training of 2.7 million data collectors all over the country for Census 2011.

14 November 2010   

Sense International (Uganda)

On behalf of Sense International (East Africa) Uganda, Aloysius Kiribaki, Development Manager expresses his loss, and shares with us the successes of the Hon. James Mwandha who recently died.

The Disability Fraternity and Uganda as a whole have lost a great Human Rights advocate in the name of Hon. James Mwandha who died on Wednesday 10/11/2010 in Mulago Hospital. I had the privilege of working very closely with him on several disability advocacy issues at National and International Levels. James was leader of Government delegation that participated in the negotiations and final enactment of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and also played a key role in the enactment of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2006 in Uganda.

James advocated for the rights of disadvantaged people. His contribution was enormous and included changes to Parliament by allowing at least one disabled person to be in the Constituent Assembly that promulgated the 1995 National Constitution with several provisions on disability. It is by law that disabled people are represented by five disabled Members in parliament. Born in 1937, Mwandha served as MP between 1989 and 2006. Ugandan Parliament mourned the loss and paid special tribute to him in a one hour service.

He was buried on Sunday 14th November 2010 in Iganga district. Sense International joined the rest of the disability fraternity to give a send off of this great Disability Advocate.

May his soul rest in eternal peace. 

 
Hon. James Mwandha (first Left to right in wheel chair, with Children of Katalemwa
Cheshire Home after the official opening of the Commonwealth Disabled People's
Forum at Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampapa June 2009.

And Above Left:

Hon. James Mwandha chairing the official opening of the first ever Disabled People's
Commonwealth Conference which was Pre- CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting) that took place in Kampala in 2007.

18 November 2010  

Sense International (India)

"KARAMVEER PURASKAR" FOR AKHIL PAUL

Founding Director, Sense International (India) Mr. Akhil Paul has been nominated and selected for the coveted " Karmaveer Puraskar " award in the field of disability. Mr. Akhil Paul, will be presented with this award in a grand ceremony on the 26^th of November in New Delhi at the exclusive awards function which is a part of "iCONGO's  RIGHT every WRONG conclave" a national forum for social justice and citizen action where various social justice issues are discussed by very eminent and concerned citizens.

The ‘Karmaveer Puraskar' is a national award for Social Justice & Citizen Action. The award is instituted by iCONGO - Indian Confederation of NGOs - the people sector association- in partnership with government, business, media, civil society and other sectors and leading global and national organizations.

Akhil has been bestowed with this prestigious award for his contribution as a pioneering leader in mainstreaming persons with deafblindness in the development process of India and in working vigorously with all sectors to build a society that is truly inclusive and barrier-free for deafblind people.

Akhil has played a pivotal role in making deafblind people a known entity in the country. In 1997, he took up the challenge when not even handful of people knew what deafblindness was and nurtured the movement to the extent that today, from one service in 1997 to 40 services in 19 states, we have come a long way and our work is enabling deafblind and multi-sensory impaired people to live full and active lives. Today deafblindness has been recognized by Rehabilitation Council of India, National Trust and other government bodies and along with our partners, we are transforming lives of more than 37,000 deafblind people and ensuring their rightful inclusion in our society.

Under Akhil's able leadership, Sense International (India) has become a synonym for deafblindness and has created networks of teachers; deafblind adults and their families. Akhil has succeeded in creating a dedicated team to ensure that deafblind people are 'seen & heard', as he sits on the Drafting Committee which is preparing the New Disability Act in the country.

A great leader who speaks through his work and does not draw attention to himself, Akhil explains what drives him simply: "The unique needs of deafblind children inspired me to take up this challenge because I could see that a ‘deafblind' child was not accepted either in a school for the Blind or school for the Deaf. Most of the times, deafblind children ended up in a center for mentally retarded, which was totally inappropriate for their cognitive abilities. We must recognize the fact that deafblind people are ‘people' first.  As fellow citizens, it is our social responsibility to create an enabling environment where deafblind people can access and work in to become contributing members."

On behalf of all of us, our partners and the deafblind people of the country,  a heartfelt congratulations  is extended to Akhil for bringing this prestigious award to the deafblind sector. We salute his undeterred commitment and hard work.