00:00This year, International Deaf Awareness Week is being celebrated under the theme
00:04No Human Rights Without Sign Language Rights.
00:08In celebration of this, the Trinidad and Tobago Association for the Hearing Impaired
00:11launched a week of activities seeking to educate and sensitize people on the deaf and hearing impaired.
00:18General Manager of Tahi Jamila Jurepa says it began with the association's deaf staff members
00:23through a mini-video series called The Deaf Experience on Monday,
00:26followed by a walk-a-thon on Tuesday and an introductory level course to sign language on Thursday for members of the public.
00:34And then today we are ending the week with our mini-expo, mini-health fair,
00:39where we are also showcasing our deaf entrepreneurs who are here with us in some of the booths,
00:45showcasing some of their products and services as well.
00:48So give me an idea of some of the products and services from these deaf entrepreneurs.
00:52So from some of our deaf entrepreneurs, we have persons who do food items,
00:56so there is fresh, cold coconut water, we have banana bread,
01:01we have some of the entrepreneurs who do plants,
01:04we also have some who do handicraft, t-shirts, sprinting, that type of thing.
01:09So those are some of our deaf entrepreneurs here with us today.
01:11Four deaf entrepreneurs to be exact.
01:14They joined five other entrepreneurs,
01:17non-profit, government and corporate booths, including the Diabetes Association,
01:22and the Disaster Management Unit of the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Governments.
01:28The DMU in particular this year, we have started a partnership with them
01:32where they are offering free of charge, once a month,
01:36a two-hour snapshots, I would say, training on disaster preparedness, emergency,
01:43CPR, and first aid for members of the deaf and hard of hearing community.
01:49So that is the relationship that we have with them.
01:51So we invited them here today just to do that same thing for persons who would have been here.
01:56Tahi has a membership of around 390 members at this time,
02:00and membership is open to anyone who feels moved to assist people
02:04among this vulnerable group in one way or another.
02:07And as talks continue around social inclusion and equal opportunity,
02:12Tahi tries to aid in the area of creating employment
02:15with a ratio of about 60% hearing staff members
02:19and 40% hearing-impaired or deaf staff members.
02:23One of the things that we are trying to advocate for is to show people
02:27and to let people know that really and truly the only thing a deaf person cannot do is hear.
02:33Education is another issue,
02:34as the two schools available only provide a primary level of education.
02:39So we are working with Ministry of Education,
02:43specifically through their student support services,
02:46to assist those students who go on to tertiary level,
02:49who go on to secondary level and then tertiary level,
02:51so that they can get a well-rounded education.
02:53So that is for a student who cannot hear at all.
02:56They require an in-classroom aid to assist them
03:00to be able to translate what is being taught in the classroom into sign language
03:05so that they can understand.
03:07That has been an issue.
03:09And so the opportunity divide widens
03:11between families who have the ability to get an aid and those who cannot.
03:16Draper also believes more can be done within the wider corporate sector
03:20as it pertains to employment of the deaf and hearing impaired,
03:23and she has a message for employers.
03:26Reach out to us if it is you would like us to help you with your staff,
03:30training your staff in sign language,
03:32so that you would then be able to treat better with members of the public
03:36who come in who may be deaf or hard of hearing.
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