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Newsletter NHSD Foundation, December 2017

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Dear readers,

We're approaching the holiday season! For the children of the New Hope School for the Deaf this means: school break! The break lasts until February and has been introduced with an End of year-party at school.

We are very grateful for your help and support in the past year. We aim to make the next an even better one for the deaf children and youth we support in Uganda. We sincerely hope you will stay connected to our foundation in 2018!

We wish you a lovely Christmas and a happy new year! 

New year, new name
This is our last newsletter as New Hope School for the Deaf Foundation! The foundation will continue under the new name 'Talking Hands'. This name is easier to remember and refers to the sign language that is being used by deaf people. We also have a new logo, a new website and a new name on Facebook

New craft designs
We invited a Ugandan artist to create new craft designs with the pupils and deaf women that make the crafts we sell in Europe. Examples of the new designs include head bands, aprons, oven mitts, small backpacks, laptop covers and shopping bags. The material used is the typical African fabric called 'kitenge' in the local language Luganda. 

Josephine, one of the deaf women, works on the new designs

Sweet potato harvest
Children in Uganda often eat maize flour (posho) and beans at school. Because of the little variety in their diets, the children lack important nutrients. Unfortunately, it is expensive to buy other foods. Our foundation aims to provide the children we support with a varied diet.

To ensure our little funds are well-spent, the New Hope School for the Deaf rents some small patches of land. Here, hired workers grow crops like sweet potato, beans, cassava and several vegetables. The pupils of the school occasionally help them to learn how to grow food. Even more important is that these crops ensure that the children can have a more varied diet and therefore eat and feel healthier!  

This season the harvest was very good. Especially the sweet potato has been plenty; enough to even provide the teachers and families during the education and sign language courses organised during the school break!

Harvesting by the bucket

School trip
In the past month, three classes of the New Hope School joined on a school trip. As part of the course Science, the classes visited three farms: one with pigs, one with chickens and one with goats. Most of the pupils were unaccustomed with large-scale livestock farming, so they learned a lot! In addition, the children were treated with a freshly boiled egg from the chicken farmer, to enjoy on the way back. All children come from poor families with little money for travel. A trip like this is therefore a real event!

Visiting a goat farm

Weekly dose of fruits
Uganda grows delicious tropical fruits, like banana, mango, papaya, pineapple and jackfruit. Yet, lots of fruit is still expensive. As not everyone can afford these fruits, many children have to go without, even though fruits are very healthy! 

The travel organisation Klüger Reisen from Düsseldorf has therefore generously decided to sponsor the New Hope School for the Deaf with fruit for all students, multiple times a week. This makes the children eat more vitamines, so they are healthier and perform better at school! 

Enough bananas for everyone! 

The work we do in Uganda is very important! We would therefore like to ask you kindly to support us. To help us secure the future of our projects, we are especially happy with a monthly donation, but of course all contributions are very welcome! You can donate to Stichting New Hope School for the Deaf, IBAN: NL74 RABO 0301 2992 50

Watch the documentary of the New Hope School for the Deaf here!

Christmas market in Singen
This year, too, our foundation is present on the Christmas market in Singen. Our stand is even lovelier than last year! We sell crafts from Uganda. These are handmade, partly by pupils of the New Hope School for the Deaf as part of their crafts classes. Our other suppliers are deaf women who earn an income from the crafts they make. All profit from the Christmas market goes to our projects in Uganda.

This year we have a couple new items in stock, like angels made of sisal and aprons of typical African fabric. If you happen to be around Singen, please feel welcome to step by! 

Ine in her lovely market stand

Grown-up courses during school break
The longest school break in Uganda is from mid-December to the beginning of February. The pupils of the New Hope School have already been picked up by their parents! The children always look forward to spent some time with their families, but are happy to start school again in February as well. 

The break does not mean all goes quiet at the school grounds! Teachers use the time to attend courses on pedagogy and sign language. In this way, qualitative education is ensured for the deaf pupils. 

In January the teachers organise a sign language course for families of the students and people from the neighbourhood. During this course, the teachers also provide information about what it is like being deaf. This course is being organised three times a year and proves to be very succesful in countering stigmatization of deaf children, thereby aiding their integration in Ugandan society.

Sign language course for grown-ups

The first final exams
Two students just finished their finals! These are the first final exam candidates since the foundation of the New Hope School for the Deaf in 2012. Because their group was so small they conducted the exam at a different school, with the help of a sign language interpreter. They were also invited to prepare for the exams together with the hearing children from this school during the past month! 

If the students pass their exams, we would like to support their further education. They could go to the only secondary school for deaf youth in Uganda, or follow a vocational training program. We need your support to make this happen! If you would like to contribute to the education of deaf children and youth in Uganda, please make your donation to Stichting New Hope School for the Deaf, IBAN: RABO 0301 2992 50, BIC: RABONL2U. Thank you! 

We expect the results of the exams in February. Keep your fingers crossed! 
 

The two final exam candidates

Would you like to help? You're keenly invited! You can donate to:
Stichting New Hope School for the Deaf, NL74 RABO 0301 2992 50

Thank you for reading this newsletter!

Remarks and ideas concerning the school, the foundation or this newsletter are always very welcome. Please do not hesitate to send us a message via
info@stichtingnhsd.org!

You can also follow us on facebook to stay informed on the activities of our foundation.
Copyright © 2017 Stichting New Hope School for the Deaf, All rights reserved.

You can make a donation to NL74 RABO 0301 2992 50 attn Stichting New Hope School for the Deaf.

If you have questions, tips or suggestions, please don't hesitate to contact us! Our email address is:
info@stichtingnhsd.org

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Talking Hands · Waldorpstraat 1326 · 's-Gravenhage, 2521CZ · Netherlands

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