Humanitarian Services
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What We Do
The best way to explain what we do is to give an example:
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ORGANIZATION A has a humanitarian disaster response trip planned to feed the orphaned earthquake victims in Nepal. The organization is well organized and normally serves approximately 5,000 per week. They have no means to contact or interact with the deaf populations in Nepal. The Deaf who need services are left out. ORGANIZATION A contacts Deaf N.O.W. to advise of the upcoming trip.
Deaf N.O.W. goes into action and contacts deaf organizations or key people in the deaf community to make them aware of the upcoming humanitarian relief coming to their area. They coordinate the ground logistics and Deaf N.O.W. assembles a team of interpreters to service the needs of the DEAF. However, because the DEAF so rarely receive any aide, their needs often extend far beyond the services Organization A was to provide so Deaf N.O.W. will step in and provide the additional services needed.
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Touching Those Hidden in Plain Sight
Within every people group in the world - there are those who are deaf. They are often "hidden" among the populace, unnoticed and often overlooked. There are not many hard statistics, estimates by the World Federation of the Deaf report approximately 70,000,000 people who are profoundly Deaf worldwide. The unemployment rate for people who are Deaf compared to those who have normal hearing is substantial. For example in Canada while the general unemployment rate was 6.3%, during that same period unemployment for people who are Deaf was 37.5%. Other sources indicate the average unemployment rate for people with disabilities is usually double that of those who have no disability. This has a significant impact on the workplace, as well as the need for basic human services. The World Health Organization reports:
Social impact: Limited access to services and exclusion from communication can have a significant impact on everyday life, causing feelings of loneliness, isolation and frustration, particularly among older people with hearing loss.
Economic impact: In developing countries, children with hearing loss and deafness rarely receive any schooling. Adults with hearing loss also have a much higher unemployment rate. Among those who are employed, a higher percentage of people with hearing loss are in the lower grades of employment compared with the general workforce. Improving access to education and vocational rehabilitation services, and raising awareness especially among employers about the needs of people with hearing loss, would decrease unemployment rates among this group.
In addition to the economic impact of hearing loss at an individual level, hearing loss substantially affects social and economic development in communities and countries
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Did you know...
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There are more than 140 million orphaned children worldwide; 18 million have lost both parents - many are deaf or disabled.
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The four countries with the largest populations of orphans are Asia; Africa; Latin America and the United States.
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Every 18 seconds a child becomes an orphan
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Approximately 12% of the U.S. population or 38 million Americans have a significant hearing loss.
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Over 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents.
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30-40% of people over 65 have some type of hearing loss
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14% of those ages 45-64 have some type of hearing loss
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15% of children between the ages of 6-19 have a measurable hearing loss in at least one ear
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Hearing loss occurs in 5 out of every 1,000 newborns.
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ALL people need and deserve basic human services.
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There are 213,000 Ecuadorian deaf people according to Consejo Nacional de Discapacidades (CONADIS), the national disability organization.
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Average income $8,000 per year (2010 est.), with lower wages for those who are deaf.
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​There are approximately one million persons who are deaf in Peru.
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There are only two secondary schools in the whole country of Peru where deaf can learn through sign language. Most Peruvians do not finish school due to cost and distance.
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Most Peruvian Deaf are unemployed or receive lower than minimum wage.
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Average income $2,080-2,600 per year, people who are deaf earn much less.
There are many great humanitarian groups and missionary efforts to help better the human condition - physically, mentally and spiritually. Many well-known celebrities champion the cause for those who are less fortunate.
Who seeks out and speaks for those who do not hear about the medical services, food and clothing available for those who have none?
