Deaf Education & Empowerment in

EthiopiaDr. Betsy Finigan & Greg

Buie

Deafness in Ethiopia• Ethiopia is a low-income, underdeveloped

country with a population of more than 80 million, ranking 157th in the world on the Human Development Index.

• Nationwide there is an extreme lack of services available to the deaf community

• There are an estimated 1 - 2.5 million deaf in Ethiopia

• Regular challenges faced by the deaf in Ethiopia include lack of access to education, basic services and information, communication, employment, health care, and more…

Program Efforts• Promote Ethiopian Sign Language (EthSL)

through posting of qualified teachers in Bahir Dar, NW Ethiopia

• Support and empower local deaf persons organizations

• Develop and disseminate educational materials and short films

• Promote volunteerism and coordinate future volunteer trips (one 2-week group trip held in 2012; one 2-week group trip planned for summer 2013)

Local Partners

• We are working collaboratively with these local partners to help empower them:– Deaf Development & Information Association (DDIA)– Ethiopian National Association for the Deaf (ENAD)– Addis Ababa University—Linguistics Department & Sign

Language/Deaf Culture program– Yekatit 23 School, Bahir Dar– Dozens of local deaf persons, teachers, and community

leaders