Our Goal

With funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and partnership with the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), Discovering Deaf Worlds will provide Deaf Dominicans with training on  the topics of; organizational development, process consultation, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and Deaf Rights to improve the sustainability of the Dominican Republic’s National Association of the Deaf (ANSORDO) and its leadership.

By strengthening the capacity of Dominican Deaf leaders to advocate for the rights of Deaf Dominicans, communicate effectively with government officials, educators and the media, and sustain these efforts over time, this program actively promotes the rights of Dominican deaf people and their full inclusion in their country’s legal and educational systems. The continued work of the Dominican Deaf leaders trained through this program will ultimately support quality, inclusive education for Deaf students, and the integration of deaf youth and adults in the competitive workforce.

The Strategy

Similar to our Philippines program, we are working closely with ANSORDO through 2020, using a “train the trainer” approach. The program will begin with a comprehensive needs assessment to determine the needs of ANSORDO and the Deaf community at large. This will be followed by a goal prioritization exercise that will determine the training topics for the remainder of the program.

Based on the goal prioritization DDW program specialists will import knowledge on a variety of topics and assist with hosting capacity building workshops for the Dominican Deaf community. Following each workshop ANSORDO members will become self-sufficient in the necessary skills. ANSORDO will then plan, host, facilitate and export what they have learned by training their peers throughout the country.

As a result, ANSORDO will be better equipped to improve the rights, education, economic opportunities, and communication access for the 60,000+ Deaf people living in the Dominican Republic.