1st rehabilitative school for the deaf and dumb opened in Raqqa

Based on the proposals of the Women's Committee in the Social Affairs and Labor Office and the Disability Office in the Raqqa Civil Council, the first school for the deaf, dumb and blind was opened after drawing up the study plan.

The school opened on September 13th, in the name of the martyr "Bashir Faisal Al-Huwaidi," and it includes 120 children, ranging in age from 4 to 14 years.

The training is supervised by a team of educational staff specialized in following-up the blind; the staff members are women, and experts have been training them for two months on sign language for the deaf and Braille for the blind.

Supervisor and administrator at the school Lana Ahmed said: “After the teaching staff underwent specialized courses, we opened this school with our available capabilities.

She adds, “The age group that we have is one of the most difficult groups that we must train and rehabilitate properly.

'Our demands are to get a helping hand'

School hours for blind students start from 9:00 am to 12 noon every day, except on Friday and Saturday, in addition to special transportation to and from the school.

Regarding the difficulties the school faces, Lana said, "More than 400 children with special needs have come to us, but the school does not accommodate more than 120 children, because there is a one-story building within the school, and it includes 12 classrooms, and each class contains 10 children."

Lana explained that the school also lacks tools, braille panels for the blind, and headphones for children who are unable to hear, and said, "Children who have residual hearing after wearing the headphones can hear properly when the teacher speaks loudly."

At the end of the conversation, Lana Ahmed appealed to the concerned authorities to extend a helping hand to them, so that they would be able to build the future of this age group of the deaf, dumb and blind.

J.O

ANHA