Newsletter April

JDA not only rescued me at the airport, they gave me a new life

Life, and airports, can be terrifying if you can’t see or hear

“Have you ever been told a story by someone who’s Deaf and blind?  My name’s Kerry.  And my story illustrates why there could be no more important thing in my life than JDA.

I was traveling back from visiting my mother in South Africa. International travel is terrifying for me, as I have to rely on strangers who can never communicate with me.  But my mother handled everything at her end and Janet, my JDA support worker, had arranged to meet me at Heathrow in the middle of the night to drive me home.

When the flight landed, I was escorted through the airport, then left sitting somewhere.  I thought I was waiting for my luggage.  After a while, I sensed something was wrong.  I started panicking - I had no idea where I was! 

Thankfully, I had JDA on speed dial on my braille phone.  I messaged Janet, who reassured me that she was at the airport, and she would find me.  She alerted airport staff that a Deafblind woman was lost somewhere in the airport.  Eventually, they found me in a waiting area for passengers in transit.  I was about to be flown to Belgium!” 

Kerry first turned to JDA for help last year.  She felt isolated.  She had a care worker who was controlling her, and who made her feel vulnerable.  She spent six days a week alone in her flat, unable to go out and suffered from vertigo and depression. 

In just five months, JDA has turned Kerry’s life around.  Our incredible, professional support workers, all fluent in “hands-on” sign language, accompany Kerry to all her medical appointments and help her to manage her health, administer all her paperwork and lead a life full of people and purpose.  

Kerry loves socialising and our community centre is her happy place - here she can communicate easily with everyone and is treated with respect, warmth and care.  For her 50th birthday, we gave her a present she’ll always remember – her first birthday party ever!

When asked what she thinks of JDA, Kerry signs: “JDA?  Oh wow!!!  I’m gobsmacked.  I love them, they’re my friends.”

My “Grandma Ruth”

Brinthan, JDA’s Deaf Community Officer, runs all JDA’s group activities for sign language users and is also a companion to our most isolated members. Here he writes about a relationship he cherishes:

The moment Ruth Lawrence steps into JDA, she brings in the sunshine. She’s a naturally funny character and, despite her deteriorating health, she’s still as sarcastic and comical as ever!
Ruth can’t come to JDA as much as she used to, so my weekly visits are really important to her.  Alleviating isolation is part of my job, as spending time signing face to face means so much to an older Deaf person who lives alone – it brings in the outside world.

Ruth can no longer see very well, so she can’t enjoy watching the TV and has no access to information about what’s going on in the world. Alone in her flat and unable to read, nor keep in touch with her family and friends by phone, she has nothing to entertain or stimulate her. 

Ruth and I have become very close, and I always joke that she is my Grandma. She loves making my two-year-old son Neri laugh now he’s a cheeky toddler! It warms my heart when I take her lifelong friends to visit her and we all chat about their school days. Ruth comes to life! 

Recently, Ruth celebrated her 90th birthday at JDA.  We surprised her by showing an old film of her with her late husband Maurice on our big screen.  She shed a little tear.  She blew out the candles on her beautiful birthday cake surrounded by her nieces, friends and JDA family.

Sadly, Ruth’s kidneys and health are failing her. Thankfully, she has her two beloved nieces, JDA’s wonderful signing carers and our incredible JDA support team to take care of her. We’re there for her 24/7 and accompany her to all her medical appointments, so she can understand the doctors and communicate how she is feeling. Together, we make sure she always feels safe, peaceful and very special to us. 

I love having Grandma Ruth in my life – she is as important to me as I am to her.  I cherish our time together and hope she goes on taking the mickey out of us for a long time to come!

JDA’s Hear to Learn campaign

Most Jewish deaf children go to mainstream schools.  They are often the only deaf child in their school. 

Being a deaf child in a hearing school can be really challenging.  Classrooms in older buildings are extremely noisy, as sounds echo and reverberate off hard walls and surfaces.

Deaf pupils (even with their hearing aids or cochlear implants) struggle to hear and understand their teachers – and their classmates. Their academic results suffer, and they come home exhausted, frustrated and miserable. 

But, thanks to the generosity of our supporters, in recent years, JDA’s Hear to Learn campaign has installed acoustic panels in five Jewish primary schools - improving sound quality in classrooms.
Now deaf children can hear their teacher more clearly, achieve better results at school and fulfill their potential in adult life.

More deaf children urgently need our help

Emily is one of several children waiting for us to improve the sound quality in their classrooms.

“I’m Emily and I’m 6 years, 3 months and two weeks old!  I go to Wolfson Hillel Jewish Primary School and, each day, I come home really tired.  Mummy says it’s because I don’t want to do my homework, but that’s not right.  It’s because I have to work extra hard to hear my teacher as my classroom is so noisy. It’s a very old building and the ceilings are high. There’s also a skylight which makes the rain extra loud.

But last night, Mummy told me there’s something called acoustic clouds which could hang above me in class and help me to hear much more easily. And they can come with me when I move classrooms. That’s so exciting – my very own clouds!”

JDA Family Services has grown by 20% in one year!

We’re supporting 43 Jewish families with deaf babies and children, and new referrals keep coming in.

Our two highly trained professional support workers, Jody and Joanna, help bewildered parents with the ups and downs of raising a deaf child, guiding them through critical decisions and supporting them emotionally and practically with the challenges they face – from the day their baby’s deafness is diagnosed, and throughout school and university life.

"DClub is the only place where I’m not different"

Our two new DClubs were set up last year to give 5-8 year old and 9-14 year old children opportunities to meet up regularly with other Jewish deaf children of their age and enjoy exciting activities tailored to their needs, or which would otherwise be a challenge to access.

DClub is the only place where they are not different from their peers. They are really appreciating getting to know each other better and adventuring together – learning horse-riding and horse-grooming, outdoor climbing at Go Ape and touring Harry Potter Studios. One little girl said: "I loved the subtitles at Six The Musical. It was the first time I’ve understood a show and I’ve never seen so many people with hearing aids in one place. It was wonderful!"
Joanna says: “It’s so important for deaf children to have a club where they are not different from everyone else and where they can just relax and be themselves. By bringing them together in a fun and friendly environment, we are helping them to feel more positive and accepting of their deafness. We want all our children to thrive!”

If we can help you or anyone you know, please do contact Jody and Joanna at JDA.