Launch Deaf Mentor Program in Việt Nam

Imagine having limited communication options with your Deaf child, and then how beneficial it would be to have an in-home language mentor to coach your family on effective sign language communication? Establishing a deaf mentor program in Việt Nam will provide instruction in Vietnamese Sign Language to deaf children and their families within the comfort of their homes. The program will also give income to ten qualified deaf mentors (five teams). The mentoring program will facilitate language access and resource sharing with the potential to grow and support more families and Deaf mentors in the future. Deaf mentors have already been selected for the program and started connecting with families motivated to learn sign language. With your financial support, the program plans to start sign language home visits (mentoring) by the end of April 2023!

Additional Context:

Sign language classes and resources for Deaf children and their families are limited throughout Việt Nam. Out of 100 schools for the Deaf, only four provide direct instruction in Vietnamese Sign Language, with the other 90+ schools solely depending on oral/spoken teaching methods. As a result of limited natural language acquisition opportunities and Deaf-focused resources, Deaf children in Việt Nam are at a greater risk for mental health problems, poor educational outcomes, unemployment, and limited knowledge of public health and well-being information, compared to their hearing peers.

I (Sam Hoeksema) am interning with PARD–The Pyscho-Education and Applied Research Center for the Deaf-Vietnam. After listening and learning about the local Deaf community, I wondered how a Deaf mentor program could support educational and economic resources for the Deaf community. The problem? Finding money to support the program. I realized there was an opportunity to invite my friends, family, and like-minded organizations to partner with the Deaf community in Việt Nam and support their goals.

Will you join and help us reach our goal of supporting five families to learn Vietnamese Sign Language over the next year?

Our goal is to raise $6,000 by July 1, 2023, which will fund the Deaf sign language mentor program for one year (260+ sign language sessions).

You may be wondering–

1. Why is this program important? What will be the benefits?

2. What will happen to the program after this initial funding?

Many grants supporting a project such as this require a pilot or “proof of concept.” Your support will allow Deaf mentors to start working with families NOW. After each mentoring session, families will complete a survey about their experience. These surveys will serve as evidence and justification to support a future grant application. The goal is to find a grant supporting the project for two additional years after this campaign.

3. What does Deaf mentoring look like?

Teams of two qualified Deaf teachers are paired with a hearing family who has a Deaf child and wants to learn sign language to better communicate with their child. The Deaf mentor team goes to their home for one hour per week and teaches sign language to the family with the Deaf child. Language activities could include cooking a meal together and using sign language throughout the process. It could be sitting together, learning a series of signs, and then telling a story together. The family adds to their vocabulary every week and strengthens their communication skills with their child. After each session, the parents and the Deaf mentor complete a feedback survey to inform future improvements. It also collects critical data, which will support grant applications for longer-term project sustainability.

4. Why don’t the language mentors volunteer their time?

The mentors selected for this program have all been trained to teach Vietnamese Sign Language to Deaf children. They are all teachers for the Deaf in three cities throughout Việt Nam. Unfortunately, they are paid low wages for the work they do. With families to support, transportation costs, lesson planning, and time involved in hosting a session, Deaf mentors need to be paid for their time and commitment.

Estimated budget:

Total: $6,000

~$5,200= Supports sign language sessions for five families for one year

~$200= Pays one Vietnamese Deaf leader to facilitate the program

~$200= 3% GoFundMe processing fee

~$250= Currency exchange fee (international donations to VND)

~$150= Incidentals and future training

If you have any other questions or ideas of other places to secure funding for this initiative in the future, please contact PARD at [email redacted] or me (Sam Hoeksema) at [email redacted]. Thank you in advance for your consideration and support!