Looking back on 2025

24 December 2025

As we come to the end of 2025, we look back on a truly eventful year for Sense International and so many of the people we work with. 

Throughout the year, we’ve celebrated so much, from the launch of our Global Deafblindness Resource Hub to the first official International Day of Deafblindness in June and several well-deserved awards for our programmes in Kenya, Uganda and Peru. It’s been a year of incredible achievement and celebration in so many areas, with our teams across the world never stopping in their mission to support people with deafblindness to live, work and thrive. 

There have in turn been many challenges, including devastating cuts to Official Development Assistance by the UK Government; we joined the sector in condemning the impact these cuts will have for people with disabilities globally, with people with deafblindness amongst the further left behind. 

Sense International will continue to advocate for the rights and inclusion of people with deafblindness globally, breaking down barriers as we work towards our vision of a fairer, more equitable world. It is more important than ever to continue our vital work, being there for people with deafblindness no matter what. 

With your help, we can ensure 2026 is a year of even more progress towards a more equal future for people with deafblindness – with collective action, we can achieve so much more. Inclusion must remain a priority for all of us; because when we get it right, the world becomes a better place for everyone. 

Take a look through some of our highlights from 2025 below. 

A phone screen displaying the Global Deafblindness Resource Hub. Text reads: In February we officially launched the Global Deafblindness Resource Hub, a platform designed to bridge the digital inclusion gap for people with deafblindness and their families, at Google’s Accessibility Discovery Centre.
A group of Kenyan adults gather around a market stall. Text reads: Sense International Kenya won the Zero Project award for its micro-entrepreneurship programme, supporting people with deafblindness and other complex disabilities to earn an income and support themselves and their families.
A woman in orange speaks into a microphone. Text reads: In March, the first Deafblind International Asian Regional Conference was hosted in partnership with the National Federation of the Deaf Nepal, bringing together persons with deafblindness, families, and experts from 22 countries.
An Indian woman and her young adult son weave coir together. Text reads: A year into our Inclusive Communities project with funding from the John Lewis Partnership Foundation, which connects adults with deafblindness with meaningful employment opportunities, 58 young adults and countless families are being supported to earn an income.
A Tanzanian woman wearing a headscarf speaks into a microphone. Text reads: Throughout the year, Sense International Tanzania have contributed to processes that will directly shape the future of inclusive education in the country, including the development of the National Strategy for Inclusive Education and the National Education Assessment Framework.
A Ugandan man wearing a lab coat stands in front of a child's mural. Text reads: Sense International Uganda successfully advocated for the recruitment of a speech therapist at the regional level hospitals, the first to be recruited by the Government of Uganda. The work continues to have further speech therapist recruited at other regional hospitals.
Two adult Kenyan men wearing suits speak on a stage decorated with the Sense International logo. Text reads: On June 27th we celebrated the first official International Day of Deafblindness. The day was recognised by the UN in 2025, and marks deafblind author and activist Helen Keller’s birthday.
A group of Peruvian adults wearing suits hold awards. Text reads: In October, Sense International Peru was recognised at the National Contest of Best Practice in Inclusive Management 2025 with an award for its ‘University and Disability’ programme, driving disability inclusion within higher education.
A young Romanian woman leans in to blow out a candle on a cake. Text reads: In August, a group of young people with deafblindness launched a new Organisation of People with Disabilities, the Association Beyond Senses, with the support of Sense International Romania.
A young Bangladeshi child sits in a supportive chair. Text reads: In Bangladesh, our partner organisation the Centre for Disability in Development was commended for its home-based education model, preparing children with complex disabilities to attend mainstream school. As of the project’s closing ceremony in November, 50% of children supported are now enrolled in school.