It’s lovely to have the opportunity to share a happy story.
We met Juhen about 6 months ago when he started hanging out at the Centre, when we tried to communicate with him to find out why he didn’t attend the local school, he would just look at us blankly. We soon worked out he was deaf and unable to form words, he would mainly communicate with noises and squeals. A good friend, Alvin McCullough, was able to help him get to the mainland for his first ever hearing test. It was a trip of a lifetime for little Juhen!
The results concluded what we suspected, that Juhen had very little hearing and had sadly missed the speech window so would find it very hard to communicate. The story almost stopped there until we stumbled across an amazing find, a Special School in the Mentawai Islands! This rare gem caters for a few children with special educational needs and provides them with basic skills and supports them in their learning. The facilities are basic but the teachers are caring, compassionate and understanding of Juhen’s needs. We were able to fund Juhen’s education at the Special School and cover the necessary transport costs.
He is in his third week of school and has settled in remarkably well considering the changes to his routine – what a star! There are many stories like this of children lost in the system, so it’s lovely to find one with a happier ending!
Without the ongoing support of kind individuals and organisations like yourself, this assistance wouldn’t be able be possible.
