Draw your dream of life...

Teacher Kim Quyen organizes free drawing classes for hearing-impaired children at the center.

By chance, we had the opportunity to "observe" a special drawing class at Happy Art, taught by Ms. Tran Vu Kim Quyen (Tam Ky ward). The class was completely silent. This was because all the students were children from the Center for Support and Inclusive Education for Deaf Children, sponsored by the Orphance Voice organization (USA).

Hands that speak

H. carefully traced each stroke that Ms. Quyen outlined for her. After each vertical, horizontal, and vertical stroke, and after choosing a color, her face lit up. Not only H., but the other 16 students also displayed emotions that were easily discernible to the viewer.

Teacher Nguyen Thi Phuong Thuy, who directly brought the children to Kim Quyen's drawing class, could hardly hide her joy at seeing the children progress day by day. Thuy is familiar with the disabled community in Quang Nam province. For more than 10 years, she has continuously taught sign language programs for both adults and children.

Drawings by students at the Center for Inclusive Education and Support for Deaf Children. Photo: XH

The circumstances that led Phuong Thuy to Orphance Voice and her selection as "Mother Thuy" for deaf and mute children in southern Da Nang are quite unusual. She says she realized that "living" with a community that uses sign language is the best way to grasp it. Each child is taught how to "talk" to each other, how to express their emotions using... their hands. Like a tightrope walker learning to balance, these special children are overwhelmed with joy whenever someone understands them. And Thuy, naturally, connects with each of these children.

Established in 2010, the center provided care and support for children with congenital deafness and mutism, those from disadvantaged families, or those without a place to live. Later, the center received additional support from the Orphan Voice organization for therapeutic activities for these children. The center became a common home where the children could open up and experience everything around them. In 2024, the center relocated to Tam Ky ward.

"Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the mute can speak." This saying signifies that kindness and compassion are universal values that can overcome all language and physical barriers. And that's how teacher Thuy began her special education class. Deaf and mute children perceive sound through the vibrations of sound waves and body language. Everything happens naturally once they learn sign language.

Magical World

H. is a special student. Keeping her coming to the center every day is the result of the efforts of Ms. Thuy and her classmates. Having no parents, H. was adopted by an elderly woman on Ton Duc Thang Street (Huong Tra Ward). In the beginning, she wasn't familiar with the way to class.

Ms. Thuy personally went to H.'s house to pick him up and drop him off, and helped with the procedures so that H. could attend classes with his friends at the center. Now, every morning, the little boy follows the sidewalks of familiar streets, cycling to class. It seems that H.'s magical world is the journey to school at the Children's House.

The Center for Inclusive Education and Support for Deaf Children includes many young children who have communication difficulties, even those born into well-off families. And many heartwarming stories have blossomed from this understanding.

M. is a boy who has been studying at the center continuously for 4 years, since the days when the center was still located in Phu Ninh.

"I saw everything the teacher did. I saw her mouth move, I saw my classmates' mouths move. But I couldn't hear anything. I felt confused – as if I were trapped in a room full of mirrors. I didn't understand anything," M. said.

He continued, saying that one day, a group of children beat him up. He saw their angry faces, but didn't understand why they were hitting him. From then on, M. stopped going to school. His parents sent him to Ms. Thuy's center for hearing-impaired children, and he loved the school!

Learning sign language was the most practical skill that helped M. the most. Now, she can communicate with her teachers and friends. No more just looking without understanding. No more rooms full of mirrors! M. has friends now!

I enjoy playing with my friends during recess. In addition, learning basic reading, writing, and math is very important. M. is being equipped to enter "real life" outside the classroom. Now, she can calculate prices when shopping, protect herself from being cheated, and is literate, and may later find work in places that require those skills.

To learn the basics of life. To understand that they have value in life, so that they can have the confidence to move forward. That is almost the expectation that anyone who interacts with these special children hopes for...

Kim Quyen and Phuong Thuy (right in the photo) - two exceptional teachers for hearing-impaired children. Photo: XH

Draw your dreams

Every Wednesday morning, people on Dang Dung Street (Tam Ky Ward) see a group of children of all ages and heights lining up to attend Happy Art, a free art class run by Ms. Kim Quyen. This class has been running for almost a year now.

Like Thuy, Kim Quyen is a well-known artist from Quang Nam province with many community activities. This artist, born in 1989, was originally an environmental engineer. After nearly 10 years working on environmental and climate projects, Kim Quyen suddenly found her way to painting and changed her life's path.

In 2022, Kim Quyen officially became an art teacher. She focused on environmental themes and the awareness and media campaigns promoting environmental protection, guiding her students through these subjects. She continuously organized exhibitions related to the environment. Furthermore, many of her children's artworks won awards at provincial, city, and regional art festivals.

Devoted entirely to painting, Kim Quyen has gained many exceptional students. The students in her weekly Wednesday morning painting class always bring a sense of wonder and emotion that is difficult to express. Unable to teach them directly, Quyen and Thuy collaborate to convey knowledge of composition and color through symbolic language. Surprisingly, Quyen says, the children have a remarkable ability to perceive color. And most of their paintings feature bright, clear colors.

In the first few weeks, some children only drew simple dots of color. Gradually, they were taught to draw trees, houses, and faces. Although not yet perfect, they began to visualize them. Others started combining light and dark colors to create depth. Although a little clumsy, it was clear that they understood light and composition.

Kim Quyen shared that art is a way to open a path to integration for hearing-impaired children. "For hearing-impaired children, speech is limited, but art opens the door to expressing emotions, thoughts, and personality. Drawing is a way to 'speak' without words," Kim Quyen said.

I gazed intently at the drawing of the road to school by a little girl named BT. The vibrant colors of the golden sunlight shining on the green road, the glimpses of red tiled roofs—it was like an image of the school. Yes, the school of T., of H., of M.... was just as pure and clear in their hearts!

Help the little ones

Orphan Voice was born from the Brewer family, Americans. In 2008, the Brewer family—Tony, Cindy, Jillian, Anna Mei, Elizabeth, Faith, and Joy—came to Vietnam and quickly fell in love with the people and culture.

Since then, Orphan Voice has partnered with numerous Vietnamese government agencies to help orphans, hearing-impaired children, children with special needs, the poor, and children at risk of abuse in central Vietnam, as well as in Cambodia, Laos, South Africa, and Myanmar.

In addition to its facility in Phu Ninh, Orphan Voice opened another facility for children with disabilities in Dien Ban in 2018.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/ve-giac-mo-doi-minh-3310196.html