Workshops for young people with deafblindness
This year we have dedicated the month of March to the young people with deafblindness from the 8 special schools we work with. We wanted to know them better, beyond the interactions we have already had through the vocational workshops where they learn a trade, so we organized 2 informal meetings, one in Predeal and the other in Herculane. Each activity brought together 8 young people from 4 different cities, together with 4 special education teachers and the organizing team of the foundation.
The workshop held in Predeal took place between 28th of February and 3rd of March, for young people and teachers from the special schools from Bucharest, Buzau, Focsani and Iasi . The other workshop, organized in Herculane between 23rd and 26th of March brought together 8 young people and 4 teachers from Arad, Craiova, Galati and Timisoara.
These workshops represented a good opportunity for communication and bonding among the teenagers with sensory impairments and also an informal way of education – within the activities they had the occasion to be creative, to learn by using non formal education methods, to get involved into team work and exercises aiming to increase their self-esteem. They also took part to outdoor walks for mobility and orientation purposes.
We enjoyed the snow in the spring and we had a lot of fun, for some of the young people this was the first experience of this kind. The barriers between the young people and the teachers disappeared and they worked together in different kind of activities. All exercises were guided by the principles of non-formal education, were based on active listening and involvement . They have improved their abilities in communication, team work, self-esteem and tactile work, they were creative and they explored new places within the outdoor walks.
We left with a lot of great memories, messages from the other participants ready to bring back some of the created atmosphere when we will miss it.
We thank all the participants for being so open to our activities!
Until the next time, we send you lots of good thoughts!
