"I am motivated by knowing that although progress is being made towards inclusion and access, there is still a great deal more work to be done. Also, mentoring youth and young adults with disabilities keeps me motivated. I have an innate desire to give back. It is uplifting when you are able to empower another and help someone discover a sense of self-worth and confidence in his or her abilities.” - Claudia Gordon At the age of eight, Claudia Gordon’s life suddenly changed ov

Hello and welcome! My name is Charleá Fields and recently I have began my journey as the Public Relations and Marketing Intern at Deaf Open World. I am a third-year student at Susquehanna University, majoring in Psychology and Journalism. As an active member on my campus, Deaf Open World caught my attention and inspired me to be apart of a bigger picture. As an emerging organization, Deaf Open World works towards advancing education opportunities for Deaf youth in Swaziland.

As my internship with Deaf Open World comes to a close, I am filled with nothing but thankfulness and gratitude for this amazing opportunity that I have been given. I have learned a tremendous amount about the community of deaf and hard of hearing individuals worldwide, especially the support that they are both currently receiving and are in need of from non-governmental organizations (as featured in my Systematic Review). The skills and talents of this demographic are vital

Welcome back to Organizational Spotlight! I am excited to announce that this week’s installment will be another update on the status of my systematic review. Lately, I have been focused on developing conclusions based on the data that I have gathered from each continent, especially Africa. Through this process, I have discovered that Africa is the only continent with more non-governmental organizations working in the education sector than in the equal rights sector, which sho

Welcome back to Organizational Spotlight! This week’s installment will focus on the European Federation of Parents of Hearing Impaired Children (FEPEDA) which is a non-governmental umbrella organization founded in 1990. The organization was set up to represent associations of parents and friends of deaf and hard of hearing children in Europe. It promotes the equal rights of deaf and hard of hearing children and young people across Europe in hopes of contributing to a fully in

This is my last week at Deaf Open World. I have loved every minute of my internship. The goals and passions of this organization are something I will always support even once I am gone. I believe that DOW can change so many lives for the better, and not just the lives of deaf youth in Eswatini, but everyone. Teaching about advocacy has taught me so much that I had never known before such as the power of our voices. It is easy to feel insignificant in a world as big as ours, b

Welcome back to Organizational Spotlight! Our focus this week is Sign Hi Say Hi!, which is a non-governmental organization based in northwest England. The organization operates as a club that welcomes all deaf children and young people whether they choose to communicate by speech or British Sign Language. The Sign Hi Say Hi! Club was created to provide an opportunity for deaf and hard of hearing youth to meet and take part in activities including sport, craft, and workshops.

From the last week of June through to July 10th, I was traveling around a few different countries in Europe. My excursion began in Dublin, Ireland. I then flew into Bordeaux, France and stayed in the south of France for about a week. After that, I flew to Portugal and experienced all kinds of new things in Lisbon, Sintra and Cascais. I ended my trip looping back around to Ireland, this time staying in Wicklow, for another handful of days. Most internships would not make it po

This week I was able to watch a Ted Talk about sign language and being deaf. I was extremely touched by the video and I realized that people that are hearing often take this sense for granted. Hearing people are unaware of what it is like to not be able to communicate with our loved ones because they do not know sign language or how it feels when you miss out on jokes because no one will explain them to you. Austin Vaday, the man who was presenting the Ted Talk, spoke about m

Welcome back to Organizational Spotlight! Our focus this week is the Global Foundation for Children with Hearing Loss, which is a non-governmental organization founded in 2009 by Paige Stringer. Throughout a journey that Stringer took across Southeast Asia in 2008, she saw that limited professional expertise, shortage of hearing aids, and general lack of awareness about hearing loss were having a detrimental effect on the livelihoods of thousands of children who are deaf and