“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
– Nelson Mandela
Despite the fact that poverty is being tackled worldwide, deaf children are often invisible to development organizations. Most deaf children in developing countries are “hidden” from the outside world. Their parents are often not aware of the potential of their deaf child and even feel ashamed. In addition, they have no access to help, which means that the lives of these children are mostly characterized by feelings of loneliness and exclusion. According to the World Health Organization (2021), it is crucial to help deaf children as young as possible and this is exactly the mission of the “Fynn Foundation”. The “Fynn Foundation” strives for equality of all deaf children around the world.
In 2021 and 2022, the “Fynn Foundation” collaborated with Elie Kwizerimana, the founding father of “Inclusive Rwanda”. “Inclusive Rwanda” is a young organisation that promotes inclusiveness through early identification and intervention, and creates community awareness. After identifying 10 young deaf children in the rural area of Burera of Rwanda, “Inclusive Rwanda” provided these children and their families (including their parents and siblings) a course “Parental Awareness”. This project was supported by “Wilde Ganzen” and the “Fynn Foundation”. During this course, parents learned sign language and were made aware of the development potential of their deaf child and what they can do to support them.