Signs Of Fun

Peru Updates

UPDATES Missions for the Deaf Lima, Peru

Ernesto Zavala

Johanna is seven years old. She is deaf and she is a student at the Bethoven state school, a school for both deaf and hearing children. She lives far from the school and from Señales. Her mother, Leonarda, must get up at 4.30 AM to prepare the meal for the day and then wake her deaf daughter up to get ready to go to school.  They go down on foot from the hill they live on. Then, they take a motor-taxi or a motorized “richshaw” that takes them to the main road where they catch a city bus. The bus delivers them two hours later near the school. They must arrive on time, or Johanna will not be allowed to go in. Johanna goes into a classroom where the teacher does not know sign language and where there is no interpreter. It is a long morning. During the entire morning, Johanna does not know what is being discussed in her classroom. Meanwhile,

Johanna’s mother waits for her little daughter outside the school building until 12.30 PM. She does not return home because she does not have enough money and it takes two hours. By the time she would arrive home, she would need to go right back to pick her daughter up to take her to our after school program at Senales. Senales is half an hour from Johanna’s school.

Dear friends and family, It is the end of March already. The school year began March 1. The time for camps and beach is gone. It is still hot and we can take advantage of the weather on weekends. Allow me to share with you the following story: Humberto is deaf. He came to Senales about a year ago. Humberto is profoundly deaf and also has vision problems. Fortunately, his vision can be corrected with glasses. Humberto came to Senales with lots of communication and behavior problems. With much care from the deaf teachers and hearing teachers, Humberto is getting better. He has been mainstreamed but he does not have a teacher yet, and after one month, he still has no interpreter in his classroom. It is no wonder that Humberto does not like to go to school. Humberto prefers to come to Senales because he has a deaf teacher who, like him, knows signs. All the other adults at the center also know signs. Humberto now knows how to sit at the dinner table and eat. He also knows how to shower, and his attitude in school has improved noticeably. His mother is also learning signs and as a member of the PTO, she is one of the more vocal in advocating for the right to a good quality education for her son and for other deaf students. Humberto went to camp for the first time this summer. Senales’ summer camp experience is a wonderful opportunity for deaf children to spend time together away from the city and family routines. Everyone at camp signs Peruvian Sign Language, so the camp is a haven for these children, a haven without language barriers. The language of the games, the stories, the Bible verses, and the craft projects is all sign language. Imagine how freeing and fun that must be for these campers! Senales staff take the opportunity to teach independent daily living skills to the campers since everyone is there together for 4 days. Hygiene, table manners, and daily chores are taught and reinforced at camp. Our goal is to help parents realize that their deaf children are on their way to becoming mature and productive citizens. When the campers return home, (the younger campers having been away from home for the very first time!) parents are often surprised and delighted to see what their child is capable of. Summer camp is an experience that has a lasting impact on everyone involved. We are thankful to God for the provision of Kawai, Scripture Unions’ ocean front retreat center where we hold the summer camps each year. Senales, Program for the Deaf has recently undergone some dramatic changes in leadership. After 15 years as director of our program, Isabel Rey decided to resign her position for personal reasons. Her many years of profound dedication to Senales, to the children and their families, and to the deaf community will never be forgotten. Additionally, one of our lead hearing teachers, Marita Padilla, also decided to move on to other things. Marita has been on the forefront of advocacy for accessible education for deaf children. We wish both Isabel and Marita success in their new endeavors. Isabel’s position has been filled by long-time Senales staffer, Judit Santillana. Judit has worked as a staff member at our T-Shirt Shop and she has been a volunteer for our summer camps and other program activities for several years. She is a gifted interpreter and also works with Lima’s deaf-blind population. Judit has stepped up to her new responsibilities as Program Director beautifully. We welcome her in this new position and look forward to settling into a new era at Senales. The rest of our Senales team has adjusted to these changes in a very positive way. Some now shoulder increased responsibilities and are experiencing the empowerment that often accompanies such changes. The deaf teachers continue with the linguistic model and teaching our community sign language classes. The hearing teachers continue with the after school program and the ‘adult’ school for those who want to continue into high school. My own role of training and equipping the new director and the team has kept me very busy. We strive to remain at the cutting edge of education and services for the deaf in Peru. The family is well. Our granddaughter is growing and Ellen is proving to be good mother. Carmen is back in New York trying to find out what the Lord has for her in His Vineyard. Warren continues on to his last year of school. I will return to NY for a short furlough. I intend to visit as many of you as possible to share with you the new developments and needs of the Deaf in Peru. Pray for the following: -          Judit as the new Program Director for Senales and for the team of deaf teachers and hearing teachers. -          The interpreters in training and the others who need to step up and lead. -          The children, some with parents who still do not want to accept them as deaf and others with behavior problems. -          The volunteers already working with us and new volunteers needed to help in the different posts available. -          For deaf and hearing interpreters to come and help us train and encourage all our staff -          For the daily finances and care for the staff, the children and the center itself. -          For our own personal support. -          For our time in the United States with all our supporters. -          For funds to purchase land and build a center for the deaf. -          For the teams who are waiting to come and build -          For the training and encouragement of those teams The work at Señales has increased with many more children coming to become part of our program. However, our space continues to be limited because we have not been able to secure a bigger place, not even temporarily. At the moment we have a long waiting list. I will be in the USA until the end of August. I would like to visit with you all. You can reach me at 631-473-0183 or 631-988-1998 (cell) Easter time is coming. Jesus conquered death and now lives. Let’s celebrate! In His Service Ernesto Zavala Deuteronomy 7:9

Dear Friends,

I wish to share with you all an update from Lima, Peru and the recent activities keeping all of us at Señales: Program for the Deaf so busy as of late.

Just weeks ago we held a conference on issues in deaf education. The conference was most successful! Our presenters came from various countries.  The first praise is that all our speakers arrived as scheduled and no one lost any luggage! The conference inauguration took place at the National Congress with several political authorities present including our faithful supporter, Congressman Michael Urtecho.

First to speak was Ruth Claros from the University of Arizona. As an expert in Bilingual Education for the deaf, she spoke about the advantages of teaching the deaf in their own language, Sign Language.  Next was Liliana Mora from the Villasoles Institute for Interpreters for the Deaf in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Liliana shared her experience as an interpreter and spoke on the need to have experienced and well trained interpreters in Peru. She emphasized that interpreters are a vital link between the deaf community and the hearing community.        

I am excited to report that our own Marita Padilla spoke about the bilingual model at Señales.  Marita is a trained teacher for the deaf who learned Sign Language at Señales and saw how important this language was for the deaf. She also shared her own experience as a public school teacher where the use of sign language is not allowed. She shared information on the mainstreaming program of Peru and the need for policy change. We are very proud of her. Thank you Marita!

Following Marita was Leonardo Hidalgo, a trained Psychologist. He lives in Miami and works at Jackson Memorial Hospital in the psychology unit for the deaf. Leo is Peruvian born. Isabel met Leo in Bogota, Colombia at the IX Latin American Conference of Sign Language Interpreters. Leo came to speak about his work, stressing the importance of recognizing language and culture issues in providing effective psychological services to deaf people. He stressed the importance of making Psychological tests accessible for deaf patients as well as providing counseling in sign language. Many in the audience were amazed that such services even exist for deaf people and several psychologists in attendance spent their time taking notes about everything he said and demonstrated. We rejoiced!!

One of the most emotional moments at the conference was when one mother of a deaf child decided to get up and say: “This is what I wanted to hear! This gives me hope and makes me realize that there is hope for my son. They are teaching my son, in a way that he understands! He is learning!” Then, she broke in tears.

Next up was Juan Luis Marin, a deaf teacher from Chile, who explained his life experience and work at the Ministry of Education in Santiago. This deaf man is part of the Special Education Unit.  He is profoundly deaf with a degree in education.  Juan Luis is a gifted communicator using his mother tongue, Chilean Sign Language.

After Juan Luis, was Marcelo Salamanca. Marcelo, who can hear, was raised by his deaf parents. Sign language was the language used in his home and so it is his native language. He also speaks fluent Spanish, (he also holds a degree in Psychology.) Marcelo explained his special situation as child of deaf parents and his unique position as a bilingual person.

All of these speakers challenged those who attended in many ways. Many teachers and psychologists left wondering about the implications of all of this. Many parents left feeling hopeful that their deaf children will have a bright future here in Peru. One parent commented: “We must have this here in Peru!” “We will!” I replied in a whisper and a silent prayer.

Roxana, one of our own teachers in our bilingual program and the deaf person who went to Costa Rica 2 years ago, responded: “There are other methods with better results. We who were born deaf and have never heard spoken language, do not have an understanding of sounds and speech like some deaf people who became deaf because of illness AFTER they had learned to speak. We who were born deaf have our own language, Sign Language. I have seen in other places where deaf people can learn and become better persons with our language in our own way. Sign Language cannot be put in a box. Sign Language is well and alive! It is constantly changing and growing! It cannot be limited to a box!’

Roxana is a fellow Christian and a beautiful girl who shows us that God is working in her life and that she is a model for many others to follow. Like Roxana, we have Vanessa, Miguel Angel, Patty and Coco. They are also deaf. They are all learning and growing and being teachers and models to the deaf community and to deaf children. From my perspective, this is the foundation for the future present- ation of the Gospel.  Deaf Christians, prepared vessels, will be able to present the Gospel to those deaf people who are willing to receive it. Once received, discipleship can happen, deaf to deaf, in an effective and intelligent manner.

I am so grateful to all of you out there who supported this conference financially. I am grateful for those who came to teach us. They traveled far and gave of their time and expertise to prepare these vessels for the future. Thank you to those of you who made it possible.

Now, we focus on our summer activities! It is time to prepare our annual summer camps for the deaf children. We also are preparing for the next group of visitors, another group of experts coming to teach about the linguistics of Sign Language and to do more interpreter training with both deaf and hearing interpreters. Pray for those who are again giving of their precious time and knowledge.

Pray for the deaf of Peru and for those hearing people, volunteers and interpreters. Pray that they will be ready to learn and to take advantage of these opportunities to train.

News about our facility is exciting, too! Room was at a premium at the center. We recently had a spare room built on the roof and moved the silk screening shop upstairs. It also gives us room to have meetings for the parents

Pray for Isabel, Marita, Tatiana, Judith, Miguel Angel, Roxana, Vanessa, Coco, Patty, Moisés and Johanna as they continue working with the deaf children and show others how it is possible for the deaf to learn.

Pray for me as I continue ministering to the Señales team as a counselor and pastor. I also need to find the funds to continue our program and to do written translations into Spanish on the materials we have gathered from presenters. This is time consuming work but very dear to my heart!

Pray for our own finances and our family in New York. May the Lord bless you in the coming season of the celebration of the reason for the season!

In His Service

Ernesto for the Zavala Family    

 Psalms 128:1

This past summer, a team of 5 joined us from the US for a week. This short term missions group stayed at my apartment in Lince. As I do with all visiting teams, I served as their host, their Spanish interpreter, their guide in this bustling city, and translator for all the written materials (English to Spanish) they bring to share with the teachers, parents and interpreters they have come to train. Goodbyes are harder when these teams leave, for we never know for sure when they will return.  Another team is planning to visit in January. 

Our new teacher at the Center is Patricia. She is a special education teacher and a speech therapist as well as being involved in theater and modern dance. She took 6 months of sign language classes at Señales. Desiring more sign language skills, she decided to stay on here to work with the children while learning to sign like they do. She says “I am still nervous about my signing, especially now that I know what Peruvian Sign Language really is. But I have a good relationship with the children, they appreciate the effort I make to communicate with them and they teach me!” Patricia is now training to become a sign language interpreter and we at Señales know she will go far. 

So, Monday through Friday I am at the Center, helping in anything I can do to make things easier for all. I am often the decision maker, the problem solver and the “big man” to the little ones. As the only English speaker in the entire program at Señales, I am the interpreter for all outside visitors and the translator for all written materials they bring. As such, I am the International Relations Director for the program, which includes organizing and hosting all short term missions teams and fund raising when needed. I am also part of the team that is working with the Peruvian National Congress to advance the recognition of Peruvian Sign Language. Just last week, Señales hosted Dr. Ruth Claros from Chile, a specialist in bilingual education for the deaf. Her presentation was held in the National Congress to an audience of 200. Among them were members of the deaf community, teachers, doctors and personnel from the Ministry of Education and special Education.  

The language recognition project is a foundational part of my work, as it is the underpinnings of the advancement of the Gospel among deaf people in Lima and the rest of the country. As we continue to minister to felt needs in the deaf community, relationships and trust grow, Christ’s love is experienced and the door is opened for the Gospel. Simultaneously, the process is underway for official recognition of the language through which this Gospel will be best communicated. We hope the recognition will come soon, but it may be years before this happens (as it has taken years in many other countries, including the US.) We will continue to support this effort in whatever way we can.

Praise the Lord for:
 - The parents who continue to learn sign language to encourage their children.
 - For the authorities who are beginning to notice the deaf.
 - For those reaching out (deaf and hearing) and asking about the Gospel.
 - For the many volunteers who give so much of their time to the work at Señales. 

Dear Friends, Greetings and blessings. The second day of our conference began with more questions and answers and then an explanation of how Peruvian Sign Language (LSP) is different from the Spanish language. Dr. Shepard-Kegl provided numerous examples and demonstrations of the visually rich grammar of LSP.  After lunch, we had a game that demonstrated how deaf people feel living daily in a world with so many obstacles to communication and access.

The game required teams to move through an obstacle course. Their only means of moving was by stepping on paper plates. As each person was allowed one plate only, each team member had to rely on his/her teammates to get through. When someone touched one of the obstacles, he had to go all the way back to the beginning. In the center of each obstacle course was a safe zone, where everyone could move about freely.  The game was first played by all the hearing people who attended the conference. (pictured above)  Later, the deaf audience had their chance. (pictured below) It was fascinating to see how differently the two groups approached the many challenges and obstacles the game presented. One of the obstacles was that people could have their plates taken away if no one was standing on them. Fewer plates made team work all the more necessary.

The deaf teams tended to work more efficiently as a unit and get everyone across. They did not leave individual team members behind. Their life experience has taught them to work together. Of course, when the paper plates were taken away, things got more difficult.  As the groups discussed the experience later, they agreed that, in many ways, the paper plates represented the feelings, the culture, and the sign language of the deaf community. When the plates were taken away ( as deaf culture and sign language are so often denied deaf people  in the general society ) life for deaf people becomes more difficult. The deaf community naturally draws together for support . The central “free zone” of the obstacle course represented deaf clubs and deaf gatherings, where everyone speaks sign language and deaf culture is alive and well. It represented a place where there are no barriers….where deaf people are free to be themselves, just as God made them to be.  For the hearing participants, what was just a game at first became a way to see just how much deaf people value their language and their culture. As more hearing people realize this and accept deaf people for who they are, the more both worlds can share with each other and  learn from each other.

The game ended up being a great learning experience for both deaf and hearing participants. Pray for the plans we have for next year. I am still getting calls and e-mails from many about classes. We need to continue training our staff and bring others to show that the deaf can. At the moment I write to you, I have received a copy of the proposal to be presented to the National Congress by Congressman Michael Urtecho. This proposal seeks to have Peruvian Sign Language recognized as an official and indigenous language of Peru. The last week in August was the International Week of the Deaf around the world. It was established by the World Federation of the Deaf. The last Sunday of the month was the day to celebrate the many signed languages around the world. Our program celebrated with a walk through town. Deaf children and their parents demonstrated Sign Language and talked to many people, many who were seeing sign language for the first time. (See photo below!) Together with different associations for the deaf and other organizations, Señales was able to once again be the catalyst to get these organizations together. This is a good testimony of our own personal faith as we work with several groups who initially did not trust us. AMEN!!

The months of October and November will be busy and somewhat difficult. We are hoping to do several activities locally to compensate for the financial shortfall of some parents who cannot afford to pay the tuition for their children to attend our before after school programs. These are the programs that provide these children with deaf teachers modeling fluent sign language. Without these language models, many deaf children will never develop fluency in sign  language and, as a result,  will have little chance to ever be literate in Spanish as their second language. Please pray for these fundraising activities to be successful.

Our family is well. Carmen continues working and helping at church. Janna is also working and trying to finish school. Warren is working hard on his junior year. We are proud. Our daughter Ellen made us grandparents of a little girl. Her name is Ariel. We pray and rejoice. We will be in NY until the first week In November. Please feel free to call and if you need to see us, we’d love to visit. In His Service Ernesto Phi 2: 10 … including the deaf Give praise: For the visit of Dr. Judy Shepard-Kegl, Polly Lawson and Regan Thibodeau. For the workshops and those who participated. For Congressman Urtecho in his desire to serve the deaf community For the staff of Señales and all the work before and during the conference. For the many angels without wings, who made the conference event possible. Pray for: Plans for next year and those who are to visit. For other deaf teams planning to visit our program to share and to encourage and the finances. For the finances needed to encourage the Linguistic Model School. Pray for the Linguistic Model School (our before and after school programs with deaf teachers) Pray for our own personal support. Pray for Ellen and her new baby.

Dear Friends and Family:    I am sorry this took so long to get to you. It was a long process from the moment we knew that Dr. Judy Kegl would visit Lima, Peru. Well, it happened! Dr. Kegl arrived Saturday, August  2nd with Polly Lawson. The following day, we visited a church where they have services for the deaf and watched a gifted deaf man to deliver a Bible study in Sign Language. We also visited another deaf group in the afternoon. It was the beginning of an intense and productive 2 weeks and the culmination of many long hours of preparation on the part of all at Senales to prepare the deaf community for Dr. Kegl’s visit. Throughout the summer, several teams visited  Senales, the center for the deaf.

The primary purpose of  Dr. Kegl’s visit was to bring information on the importance and legitimacy of Peruvian Sign Language. She, along with Polly Lawson and Regan Thibodeau, would also provide sign language interpreter training to both hearing and deaf interpreters. Presentations were planned for smaller groups of parents of deaf children, interpreters, and deaf community leaders and organizations during the first week as a way to prepare for the grand finale, a two day conference entitled 'Peruvian Sign Language: An Existing National Treasure' that was held in the National Congress Building in central Lima. In addition to this two day conference, a smaller, but more crucial meeting was planned with Congressman Michael Urtecho. This meeting was to allow Dr, Kegl two hours to present to the 120 members of the Peruvian National Congress and the leaders of the ministries of Education and Special Education on the linguistics of Peruvian Sign Language (LSP). Sadly, this meeting was cancelled literally at the last minute due to conflicts in scheduling during a particularly busy period for the Congress. We will try to do this again…and have been invited to do so by Congressman Urtecho, who is a supporter of our work as advocates for the deaf community of Peru. Pictured below is the first day of our 2 day conference (August 15th, 2008). Dr. Kegl (black jacket) can be seen conferring with me and Ms. Lawson (red sweater). Next to Ms. Lawson is the Minister of Special Education and next to her is Congressman Urtecho who is addressing the crowd of over 200. At the far left of the table is deaf interpreter and sign language instructor Regan Thibodeau.

It is important to note that history is being made in this photo. Standing to the right is a deaf interpreter ( Serafin Ramirez) who is working as a team with a hearing interpreter (Vanessa Flores) sitting in the chair in front of him. This conference showcased the value of deaf and hearing interpreters working together to improve to quality of the interpreted message. Such teamwork was used throughout the conference, establishing a vision for future interpreter training. Throughout this conference we had four languages being used: Spanish, Peruvian Sign Language, English and American Sign Language!   The photo below is a glimpse of the crowd of more than 200 that first day of our conference at the National Congress. Many shown here are parents of deaf children and teachers who have deaf children in their classrooms. The space provided for us was filled to capacity! Particularly positive was the extremely large turnout of deaf people from the many deaf organizations around Lima. This deaf community, which has struggled with a lack of unity among its organizations for many years, came together in an unprecedented show of unity during this conference.