The vice-president of the All-Russian Society of the Deaf visited the DPR on a humanitarian mission

The All-Russian Society of the Deaf (VOG) is establishing systematic support for the hearing impaired in the Donetsk People’s Republic. This was announced during the visit of VOG Vice-President Ilfat Kudakaev to the region on a humanitarian mission.

The VOG delegation visited in a kindergarten for deaf and hard of hearing children in Makeyevka, the only such educational institution in the republic. The children prepared a concert for the arrival of the guests, and the teachers spoke about the problems of the social sphere in the republic.

VOG Vice-President Ilfat Kudakaev talked with the children and thanked the teachers and administration for their work: “It is joyful to know that in the most difficult conditions, teachers continue to work with children, develop them, help them adapt socially, both in our deaf community and in” big” society. These are real ascetics. And for our part, we will do everything possible to make their work easier, be it removing regulatory and administrative barriers, establishing relations with government agencies, or direct material support,” noted the vice-president of the Vogue.

The kindergarten, the pupils themselves and their teachers received various technical rehabilitation equipment and basic necessities as humanitarian aid. At the same time, Ilfat Kudakaev emphasized that in the near future this assistance will become systemic, targeted and targeted.

Currently, approximately 1,500 deaf people in the republic are served by one regional and three municipal branches of the VOG. All of them became recipients of humanitarian cargo from the parent organization. More than 500 items of essential goods and specialized equipment were distributed to deaf families in need.

According to Ilfat Kudakaev, not only the VOG itself is ready to help Donetsk hearing impaired people, but also its regional branches, as well as many private individuals. “It is important to establish a mechanism in which all the necessary information will be collected locally and transmitted to the central board, which in turn will be able to use its financial, organizational and lobbying capabilities to support people. It is necessary to build a one-stop system, in which deaf people would not have to knock on the doors of different departments, often without even being able to fully communicate with officials in the absence of translation into Russian sign language,” he noted.

The humanitarian problems of the region cannot be solved without close cooperation with the relevant ministries of the DPR. Therefore, as part of the trip, the Vice-President of the VOG held a working meeting with the Minister of Labor and Social Policy of the Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Strelchenko, who is responsible for the design of individual programs for rehabilitation or habilitation of a disabled person (IPRA), labor quotas for the deaf, as well as the provision of Russian sign language translation services. “The deaf and hard of hearing have enormous potential, its use not only in the interests of the deaf themselves – but also for the benefit of the entire regional economy. We will do everything possible to remove administrative barriers to the employment of people with hearing disabilities,” the minister noted.

The VOG vice-president also met with the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the DPR Lyubov Volkova, who promised to adjust the programs of specialized educational institutions for the deaf, as well as introduce an elective in Russian sign language in regular secondary schools. “Inclusion is one of the priorities of our educational policy. We are working to ensure that our secondary schools are comfortable for people with disabilities, but at the same time we do not forget about specialized institutions, where education is optimal for some children,” noted the Deputy Minister.

Finally, with the Minister of Culture Mikhail Zheltyakov, Ilfat Kudakaev managed to preliminarily agree on a tour of the Theater of Mimicry and Gesture and a cultural exchange program. “Deaf people are not just people with special needs, but also a cultural community with their own language, their own artistic tradition. And culture is the best tool for uniting people. I am convinced that thanks to theater, music, and painting, the deaf people of the DPR will be able to quickly join the Russian deaf community,” the minister noted.