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202 - Pay it Forward in Sign Language, Access Israel, Israel
CONTACT
Access Israel
Mr. Sar-el Oren Ohana
Israel
+972 50 782 2921
OVERALL GOAL /MISSION
Since there are only a few people who know how to communicate in sign language, the deaf and the hearing impaired
struggle with reduced social network and increased isolation and stereotypes, which further hinder their integration in
hearing society and the work force. According to a report of the Israeli Ministry of Economics in 2013, 20% fewer deaf
and hearing impaired people are employed than hearing people. The unemployment rate of deaf and hearing impaired
people is 5% higher than that of able-bodied people, and approximately 40% of young deaf people are unemployed.
To increase awareness to the needs of deaf and hearing impaired people, and to enable their integration in society as
equals by teaching sign language to the public, thereby giving the means to acquaint hearing people with deaf culture.
The project’s sign language courses are consisted of six meetings, each lasting two hours and taught by a deaf
instructor. The participants commit to pass on the newly-learned information to at least one person, thereby becoming
involved in promoting social change on a grassroots level. The project facilitates the integratation of people with hearing
disabilities by improving language acceessibility, by providing skills for immediate communication, by instilling sign
language in the hearing community, and by creating informal relationships between hearing and deaf people. In
addition, the project advocates hiring opportunities for deaf people, and advertize businesses that are accessible to
people with hearing disabilites.
THE SOLUTION THAT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED
Learning sign language, forming relationships, and becoming familiar with deaf culture in an affirmative, enjoyable and
fascinating way. The project provides basic courses in Israeli sign language taught by deaf instructors on a level that
enables basic communication. By acquiring basic knowledge in sign language, the project opens channels of
communication between hearing and deaf people, and therefore enables the hearing to familiarize themselves with
deaf culture. The success of the program led us to expand the project, and to offer additional basic and advanced
courses. In the past 7 years, the course was handled by volonteers and was offered free of charge. However, this past
year we began charging a nominal fee to pay the instructors' wages and cover the costs of the exapnding project.
Consequently, the project now offers both a rewarding employment and a decent income for deaf people.