President Ruth Warick Journal Editor Carole Willans

E-Mail: president@ifhoh.org E-Mail: journal@ifhoh.org

October, 2011

In This Issue

From the Editor’s Desk - by Carole Willans 2

IFHOH President’s Message - by Ruth P. Warick 3

IFHOH Call for Nominations – by Anna Klemettilä-Sorri 5

EFHOH News - by Marcel Bobeldijk 6

IFHOH World Congress 2012 7

Norway – 22.07.11 9

United Nations Focus on Youth – by Karina Chupina 10

In Memory of Geoff Brown 14

The Mysterious Case of Vincent Van Gogh – by Robert M. Traynor 15

Travel to Africa – by Kees Twilt 17

Support for Ukrainian Children 19

Calendar of Events 20

News Bites 21

IFHOH Mission and Board of Directors 24

IFHOH is registered as a charitable organization at Vereinsregister Amtsgericht Hamburg, Germany (Nr. 69 VR 10

527) and is also an International Non-Governmental Organization having special consultative status with the United

Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). All the views expressed in this Journal are those of the writer for

each article and do not necessarily reflect the views of IFHOH.

IFHOH Board President, Ruth Warick (Canada)

Vice-President, Ahiya Kamara (Israel) General Secretary, Ulf Olsson (Sweden)

Treasurer, Katja Vis (Finland) EFHOH Representative, Marcel Bobeldijk (The Netherlands)

IFHOH Webmaster, Pertti Köyste

2

Carole Willans

Dear IFHOH friends,

Reading this issue of IFHOH Journal, you will

likely be impressed at the high level work that

IFHOH is accomplishing at the United Nations.

Ruth Warick and Karina Chupina provide

interesting reports of initiatives and

activities, evidence that IFHOH is emerging as

a world player! Personally, reading about

captioning on the big screens of the UN

General Assembly Hall really made my day!

Please note the Call for Nominations published

by the IFHOH Nominating Committee (page 5).

IFHOH‟s achievements are based on the hard

work of its people, especially its leaders. A

solid Board of Directors is very important to

its continued success.

On another note, ever since coming to IFHOH,

I often think about the huge disparity that

exists between people living with hearing loss

in low and middle income countries, and those

in high income countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO)

estimates that in 2005, close to 278 million

people in the world were living with moderate

to profound hearing loss, of which 80% live in

low and middle income countries

(http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/

fs300/en/index.html).

In all countries, hearing loss is often caused by

something that could have been avoided or

prevented, such as loud noise, trauma, ototoxic

drugs, and infectious diseases. Diseases may

not be fully avoidable, but their impact on the

individual‟s hearing can be reduced through

early diagnosis and proper medical treatment.

The WHO estimates that hearing aids are

manufactured at a rate capable of meeting

less than 10% of the “global need”. It adds

that in developing countries, fewer than 1 out

of 40 people who need a hearing aid have one.

Someone recently asked me (about Canadians):

“Why do so many refuse to buy a hearing aid?”

I answered that it is mainly because many do

fear being seen as different, incompetent, or

old; they fear it will affect their image. This

is evidence of the social and emotional impacts

of hearing loss, which are very real.

But many people in low income countries just

want the chance to hear. We need to help

them, and help ourselves! It is time to set

aside worries about “image”. We all look

better when we can communicate better!

Articles and announcements are welcome!

Please send to journal@ifhoh.org

3

Ruth P. Warick

News from the IFHOH President

IFHOH is a partner on the global stage! If you

ever doubted it you should have seen us in New

York at the Fourth Session of the Conference

of States Parties for the Convention* on

September 7-9, 2011.

(* United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities)

Jan-Peter Strömgren, IFHOH‟s former

President, was part of the Swedish delegation,

whose members were the lead hosts to the

meetings. IFHOH Vice-President Ahiya

Kamara, who holds the post of Israel

Commissioner for Equal Rights of Persons with

Disabilities in his country, was a member of his

country‟s delegation.

Ulf Olsson, IFHOH General Secretary, and I

attended several meetings and represented

IFHOH at the weekend meetings of the

International Disability Alliance (IDA), a group

of international organizations which has gained

some influence in the UN. I also attended a

meeting of the Special Rapporteur, Shuaib

Chalklen of South Africa, who reports yearly

to the Commission for Social Development on

the promotion and monitoring of the

implementation of the United Nations

Standard Rules for the Equalization of

Opportunities of Persons with Disabilities.

Also I would like to thank Ahiya for

representing IFHOH at a consultative Civil

Society Forum sponsored by the International

Disability Alliance (IDA) and UN DESA (Dept.

of Economic and Social Affairs).

So IFHOH was there, but frankly we have a

long way to go in educating the UN system

about the access needs of hard of hearing

persons. The plenary and IDA-sponsored

meetings had access but often the side-events

did not. I was dismayed that the meeting of

the Special Rapporteur had no assistive

4

listening system and – yes – I did bring it to

the organizer‟s attention. Next time it will be

different. But this is how we make progress –

by making our needs known and by offering to

be a resource to make it better.

As a side note to the IDA meeting, I had the

opportunity to meet the new President of the

World Federation of the Deaf, Colin Allen, who

hails from Sydney, Australia and welcomed his

interest in working more closely together. At

the IDA meetings it is common for our

organizations to support the each other‟s

position on issues such as the need for full

access to everyday life, education and

employment.

Our global influence is also evident in the

appointment of Karina Chupina to the Global

Advisory Panel which adjudicates funding for

the Disability Rights Fund. The Fund supports

disabled persons organizations in the Global

South and Eastern Europe/former Soviet

Union in advocating for the human rights of

persons with disabilities. By the way, last

summer Karina was an IFHOHYP

representative at a UN General Assembly High

Level Meeting on Youth (read Karina‟s report

starting on page 10). Because IFHOH has

consultative status with the Economic and

Social Council of the UN, we were able to

assist with her registration for the event.

A late revision has occurred in my message to

you. Due to flooding in Thailand which

advanced toward Bangkok in late weeks of

October the first-ever Asia- Pacific hard of

hearing leaders event in Bangkok which was

scheduled for November 2-4, 2011 had to be

postponed. Over 30 participants from the Asia

Pacific Region were expected to attend and

funds were raised by the following member

countries of IFHOH for their support for the

venture which was to go to subsidize

captioning costs: Pro Audito Switzerland; HRF,

the Swedish Association for Hard of Hearing

People; the Hearing Loss Association of

America (United States); and the Canadian

Hard of Hearing Association (Canada). A new

date has not yet been set. We still look

forward to a future opportunity to meet and

speak with hard of hearing persons from the

Asian Pacific region to get a better

understanding of how they identify

themselves, the state of supports for them,

and their issues and concerns. I am

particularly interested in knowing if their

societies recognize “hard of hearing” as a

disability category, and whether individuals

find it beneficial to self-identify or there is a

stigma to doing so.

Another major activity to touch on briefly is

the Second Hearing Loop Conference, held in

Washington D.C. June 19-20. Here I want to

acknowledge that Siegfried Karg of

Switzerland was the brainchild behind this

initiative. I also want to thank Brenda Battat

of the Hearing Loss Association of America

and its partners for carrying forth with this

important initiative. As I stated in my closing

panel remarks, Hearing loops used to be the past, and now they are the future. There is an

important place for such low tech, potentially

easily accessible form of hearing access.

As you will read in this issue of IFHOH Journal, preparations are well underway for

the IFHOH World Congress 2012 being hosted

by our Norwegian members. Mark on your

calendar that you will join us in beautiful

Bergen, Norway from June 25-28, 2012 (see

pages 7 and 8 for full information). Last

summer our Norwegian members faced a

shocking national tragedy but have been

resilient in carrying on despite their grief;

they have our hearts and support. You can

read more about this on page 9.

In closing, I would like to invite you to contact

me if you have any issues or concerns; my email

is president@ifhoh.org.

With best regards,

Ruth Warick

IFHOH President

5

by Anna Klemettilä-Sorri, IFHOH Nominating Committee Chair

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS Letter from IFHOH Nominating Committee to IFHOH Members

The IFHOH Nominating Committee is

mandated to provide a nominations slate in an

election for the Board of IFHOH. A new slate

of officers will be voted in the IFHOH

Biennial meeting, June 25, 2012 in Bergen,

Norway.

Nominations are open for the following

positions:

President

Vice-President

General Secretary

Treasurer

Member-at-large

Candidates must be nominated by general

member organizations of IFHOH. Each

member of the Board must be from a

different country and, when possible, from a

different part of the world.

Please communicate preferably by e-mail to

the Chair of the Nominating Committee and

include:

A biographical summary

Statement of reason for support of

the nomination

Contact information (address, phone,

fax, e-mail, etc.) of the nominee

Contact information (address, phone,

fax, e-mail, etc.) of the nominator

Please send this information at the latest by

Wednesday, January 31, 2012 to the email

address of the IFHOH Nominating Committee

Chair, Anna Klemettilä-Sorri: anna.klemettila-

sorri@welho.com

Thank you,

IFHOH Nominating Committee:

Anna Klemettilä-Sorri

Carole Willans

Kees Twilt

6

by Marcel Bobeldijk, EFHOH President

EFHOH continues to work very hard and to

celebrate different kinds of successes.

The following is what is coming up in the next

weeks for the EFHOH board:

- Work on the European Council for Deaf and

Hard of Hearing Organisations, which actively

begins January 1, 2012

- Meeting of the EFHOH Board takes place in

Hamburg (Germany) the last weekend of

October, 2011 – including discussions to

changes to regulations so that EFHOH will be

a more democratic organization

- Jan Lamby and Lidia Best participate in the

European Day of people with disabilities in the

European Capital, Brussels.

It is a very busy time for us all at EFHOH!

We are involved in different events relating to

the European Year of Volunteering 2011.

In November, 2011, Lidia Best and I will

participate in the final preparations for the

European Council for Deaf and Hard of

Hearing Organisations in Europe. One of our

difficulties is to find a good name for this

collaboration. More information on this will

come soon!

On September 7, 2011, Lidia and I

participated in an European Parliament meeting

hosted by Ádám Kósa. The theme of this

meeting was Mobility and Inclusion of People with Disabilities. This was the first such

meeting with speech to text support! Yes, it

was a historical moment for the Hard of

Hearing movement in Europe.

Lidia Best has represented EFHOH this year

at all European Parliament Disability

Intergroup meetings. It is the first time in

our history that we at EFHOH have been

represented at so many EP Intergroup

meetings.

Karina Chupina, IFHOHYP President, has been

elected Global Advisor at the Disability Rights

Fund. We are very proud and wish her much

success!

Kind regards.

Marcel Bobeldijk, EFHOH President

7

The IFHOH World Congress 2012 in Norway,

the Land of the Midnight Sun!

Bergen, Norway, June 25 to 28, 2012

The theme of IFHOH World Congress in 2012 - “A Better Quality of Life!”

Continued on the next page…

8

Welcome to IFHOH World Congress in Bergen, Norway, June 25 to 28, 2012.

IFHOH and HLF (The Norwegian Association of Hard of Hearing) welcome you to the IFHOH World

Congress 2012 in Bergen, one of the most beautiful cities in Norway. The old parts of the city are

considered a world heritage site. Bergen is the gateway to the Norwegian fjords and an excellent

place to start a holiday in Norway by boat, train or a rented car. There will be different holiday

prospects with reduced prices for participants at the Congress described on the website.

The theme of the 2012 Congress is “A Better Quality of Life!” and the program will focus on the

challenges facing hard of hearing people at all ages and in all parts of life from birth to old age. The

programme will consist of presentations from both professionals and hard of hearing people

themselves. The preliminary programme is now on the Website.

To register, please go to the Congress Website – www.ifhoh2012.no where you can also receive updated news about the program, events and activities. (The Registration

platform for the conference will open no later than November 1, 2012.)

If you have any questions about the Congress, please send an e-mail to

ifhoh2012@hlf.no

Kind regards,

Knut Magne Ellingsen

President

HLF (Norwegian Association of the Hard of Hearing)

Congress Website: www.ifhoh2012.no

Congress Secretariat: ifhoh2012@hlf.no

9

FROM NORWAY

As you know 22.07.11 was a day which changed the peaceful country of Norway

forever.

It is just terrible that one single man can have so much hate. But it is also

true what one of the young girls who survived said to CNN: "If one man can show

so much hate, think how much love we all can show together."

Monday night around 200,000 people filled the streets of Oslo with flowers in

their hands. They wanted to say that we resist hatred. We are sad to the

deepest thread of our souls. We cry in dignity. But nobody swears to take

revenge. Instead we want even more humanity, solidarity and love.

I want to tell you that both my family and I are doing well, but we cry

together with those who have lost one of their beloved.

Yours sincerely,

Knut

Knut Magne Ellingsen

President, FFO (Norwegian Federation of Organisations of Disabled People)

FROM IFHOH

Dear Mr. Ellingsen,

On behalf of the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People, I

wish to offer our deepest sympathies for the national tragedy that has

affected Norway and claimed the lives of so many men, women and

children. We join with you, our friends, in decrying the shocking end

of the lives of so many in your country although we cannot begin to

fathom the grief and heartache that you are experiencing. We know that

many members of our hard of hearing community in Norway will have been

personally affected by knowing family, friends and colleagues who were

taken in the senseless actions of Friday, July 22, 2011.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you in this time of individual and

national mourning. We know that you, as a people and as a country, will

rise up stronger from this tragedy and that you will repeal the threat

to the values and beliefs of a nation and its democratic institutions.

We will not forget those who died in this national tragedy; we

recognize that it will take courage, resilience and faith in the future

for you and your fellow citizens to carry on while engulfed in so much

pain. We know that you will rise up to the challenge in honour of those

who died these past few days and as a testament that the best of the

human spirit will prevail.

Sincerely yours,

Ruth P. Warick, President, IFHOH

10

by Karina Chupina, IFHOHYP President

United Nations General Assembly

High Level Meeting on Youth – a

mainstream youth-focused event

with captions provided (and

fought for!)

I was honoured to represent IFHOH and

IFHOHYP at the UN General Assembly High

Level Meeting on Youth that took place July

25-26 at UN Headquarters in New York.

A long correspondence preceded my

participation, as I wanted to ensure that live

captioning would be provided during the entire

meeting. Without the additional advocacy from

my part and efforts from the UN DESA staff,

captioning accessibility would not have been

possible.

One of the reasons that made it such a

challenge to get captioning accessibility was

that the internal UN Secretariat-wide policies

and guidelines on accessibility were still being

developed. In these efforts, the joint IFHOH-

EFHOH-IFHOHYP letter on the necessity to

make the UN and EC meeting venues accessible

for hard of hearing people that was submitted

by IFHOHYP last year to the EC and the UN

bodies, was used as an advocacy tool.

Finally, after extensive exchange of IFHOHYP

messages and internal work of the UN DESA,

captioning was fully provided for the two days

of the meeting. IFHOHYP advocacy worked! A small step in the UN agenda, a big step for disability issues at the UN, for IFHOHYP and the entire hard of hearing community!

Continued on the next page…

11

The UN High Level Meeting on Youth with captioning on the two big screens!

The UN High Level Meeting opened with

captioning on two big screens. Ban Ki-moon, the

UN Secretary General, opened the meeting.

UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon

The captioning worked excellently, only the

letters seemed a little small for those who sat

in the far back. However, there was no

induction loop accessibility in the UN General

Assembly Hall, and old headphone models (one

ear-phone box) were impossible to put over

the ear with a hearing aid. At times there

were interpretation hiccups.

Funny thing: when the interpretation or

headphones did not work, hundreds of pairs of

delegates' eyes were fixed on the screens

with text/ captions. This is the point of inclusion - captions are helpful + useful not only for deaf/ hard of hearing, but for everyone in society!

Continued on the next page…

12

To people the captions on the screen looked as

something natural that they took for granted.

If they only knew what kind of work this

involves! I spoke about accessibility needs in

some interviews to the press, and one short

excerpt can be found here:

http://www.policymic.com/articles/why-young-

people-don-t-participate-in-politics. It is

worth noting that at previous UN meetings,

captions were provided for disability-related

meetings, but rarely or never for mainstream

meetings like this High Level Meeting on

Youth. A very good start for captioning to be

accepted wider in the mainstream!

Below me in the General Assembly Hall, I saw a

sign language interpreter translating speeches

for a representative from Sweden. Another

representative with a hearing loss! It turned

out that it was Malin Johansson, deaf and

young official representative of Sweden to the

UN General Assembly. She later gave an

inspiring speech in sign language! It was a

remarkable visibility of disability AND youth

at the High Level Meeting! She said in sign

language: "I regret that there are so few

young people representing youth here".

James Aniyamuzaala, past Board member of

IFHOHYP, spoke at the UN High Level

Meeting on behalf of the African Network of

Youth with Disabilities on the need to include

youth with disabilities into youth programmes

and ensuring accessibility.

James Aniyamuzaala

All three of us – Malin Johansson, James

Aniyamuzaala and I – were the only

representatives of youth AND disability issues

at the UN High Level Meeting.

Malin Johansson, James Aniyamuzaala and Karina Chupina

The UN High Level Meeting on Youth could be

followed at

http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/inde

x.html. Unfortunately, though the video says

that captions (CC) are "on", I did not see them.

There is still a lot of advocacy work to be done

by IFHOHYP in cooperation with CCAC,

Collaborative for Communication Access via

Captioning.

UN HLM reflected the growing

interest of international community to youth

and youth issues, and the role of youth in

changing the world. As one speaker aptly put

it: “A nation that does not take care of its

youth, does not have a future – and does not

deserve one!” But behind the rhetoric, a lot

needs to be done. The fact that there were

few young Youth Delegates on behalf of the

UN Member States, speaks for itself. State

representatives were calling for more

investment in youth and job opportunities, but

incidentally, only a few representatives

mentioned the need to pay attention to

marginalized youth. The US representative of

youth was a young person himself, who said he

was from a poor family and his mother had a

mental disability. It was his work in community

that helped him to grow personally and

professionally. Continued on the next page…

13

One of the interesting concrete proposals was

to create the world scholarship fund where

every government contributes.

The Side Event on Youth with Disabilities was

a 1.5 hour round table discussion with inputs

from Vladimir Cuk, International Disability

Alliance, Fred Doulton, UN DESA, and a few

other speakers from Leonard Cheshire

Disability Young Voices. I spoke about the

importance of training and inclusive education

for youth with disabilities, stressing the value

of non-formal education, and gave a brief

presentation of IFHOHYP. As a result of the

event, IFHOHYP established good contacts

and partnerships with the International

Disability Alliance, UN DESA, Leonard

Cheshire and Rehabilitation International.

UN DESA and IDA are considering IFHOHYP

as a possible partner in their projects and

trainings related to the UN CRPD. IFHOHYP is

looking forward to cooperating with them!

The resolution of the UN High Level Meeting

contains a mention about youth with

disabilities, but as usual, as part of "vulnerable

youth". We discussed with IDA and the UN

DESA that we need more advocacy for youth

with disabilities specifically and explicitly. The

strategies about uniting youth with disabilities

worldwide for this aim are under development

and you may hear about them in the near

future.

At RI, with Venus, Ilagan and Leonor of RI

IFHOHYP expresses its thanks to IFHOH for

their help in registering for the UN event, to

the UN DESA and Mr. Fred Doulton for their

support in pushing through the accessibility at

the UN High Level Meeting on Youth -

captioning on screen that helped not only hard

of hearing but all participants of the meeting!

Author‟s note: Before and during preparations

for captioning inclusion, I was in contact with

several good colleagues online, e.g. the CCAC

(www.ccacaptioning.org), and others on the

social media. The professional captioners also

merit a big thank you, along with all at the

United Nations who achieved communication

access for us all.

14

We are sorry to report that Geoff Brown passed away after a short

illness on July 2, 2011 at the age of 84.

Geoff was a long serving member of the NADP Executive Committee, on which he held a

number of posts over the years, including Local Groups Officer, Membership Secretary,

Fundraising Officer and Webmaster. He also represented NADP for many years on

TAG. Geoff was a founder member of STAGETEXT and a past Chairman of Deafness

Support Network (DSN) in Cheshire. He was also involved with CICADA, a group for

those who received cochlear implants in Manchester, and with the National Cochlear

Implants Users Association (NCIUA). He was also a lay preacher in the Methodist

Church. Geoff‟s activities were not limited to

the UK either – he was a regular attendee of

the ALDA (Association for Late Deafened

Adults) Conference in the USA and

represented them in the UK and was also

Chairman of the Late Deafened People

Commission for the International Federation

of the Hard of Hearing (IFHOH).

Geoff never let his age stop him doing anything, and he had the energy of somebody

twenty years younger. He was at home with new technology, and although he was a quiet

and unassuming person he was widely respected and made a significant contribution to

the improvement of life for deafened people. He also acted as official photographer at

NADP Conferences so it is appropriate that the photo shows him engaged in that

activity.

His energy and warmth will be greatly missed, and all of us at NADP extend our

thoughts to his family.

15

by Robert M. Traynor, Ed.D., MBA @ Hearing International

Robert M. Traynor Vincent Van Gogh (self-portrait)

(…) Vincent Van Gogh is not only universally recognized as among the great artists in history, but also

as the tortured genius and crazy painter who sliced off his own ear. Art-loving audiologists from

around the world have long been baffled by Van Gogh‟s loss of the external part of his right ear

(known as the pinna) and his much-discussed hearing impairment.

Van Gogh, one of the leading Impressionists, also takes his rightful place with other historical figures

who have suffered from Menière‟s disease. (…) Although his physicians diagnosed Van Gogh as having

epilepsy and madness, Hargrave (2011) writes that the painter was known to have suffered from

tinnitus, which he described as ringing or roaring in the ears, as well as impaired hearing and

intolerance of loud noises (classic Menière‟s symptoms).

(…) Van Gogh‟s inimitable fusion of form and content is powerful; dramatic, lyrically rhythmic,

imaginative, and emotional, for the artist was completely absorbed in the effort to explain either his

struggle against madness or his comprehension of the spiritual essence of man and nature. Before

becoming an artist, Van Gogh worked as a pastor, art salesman, and teacher. He was a well-known

recluse, sometimes spending hours in silence with his bible.

16

Dr. Prosper Menière

Although Prosper Menière‟s 1861 paper outlining the disease that bears his name was published two

years before Van Gogh‟s birth, the condition was not well known or medically accepted in the late 19th

century. Therefore, it‟s not surprising that Dr. Peyron, a physician at the St. Remy (France) asylum for

epileptics and lunatics, diagnosed Van Gogh with epilepsy and thought this to be the cause of his

malady. Based upon this diagnosis, the painter voluntarily admitted himself to the St. Remy facility in

May of 1889. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound the next year.

For a century he was thought to have been epileptic and was well known as the crazy painter who cut

off his own ear. In an effort to correct the record, Arenberg et al. (1990), a group of neuro-

otologists, reviewed 796 of Van Gogh‟s personal letters to family and friends written between 1884

and his suicide in 1890. Their analysis reveals a man who was constantly in control of his reason, but

who suffered from severe and repeated attacks of disabling vertigo, not a seizure disorder. In their

opinion, the clinical descriptions in his letters are those of a person suffering from Menière‟s disease,

not epilepsy. (…)

Source: The Mysterious Case of Vincent Van Gogh‟s Pinna (Extract reprinted with permission of the

author), for the full text: http://hearinghealthmatters.org/hearinginternational/2011/the-

mysterious-case-of-vincent-van-goghs-pinna/

Editor’s Note: Bob Traynor is the CEO and a practicing audiologist at Audiology Associates, Inc., in Greeley and Johnstown, Colorado with particular emphasis in amplification and operative monitoring, offering all general audiological services to patients of all ages.

17

By Kees Twilt

This is an invitation for people

who are hard of hearing or deaf

to travel to Gambia and Senegal

from January 7 to 21, 2011.

This season we are organizing another trip for

people who are hard of hearing or deaf, and

those who are interested in deaf education in

Africa in particular.

This year, we are visiting a school for the deaf

in Kanifeng (Gambia), as well as the only school

for the deaf in the South of Senegal, which is

located in Thionck Essyl. In addition, we will

be introduced to the culture and wildlife of

the area: music and dance, and a boat trip

through the mangrove are on the program.

Because of malaria and meningitis, many

children in Gambia and Senegal are deaf.

Despite the large number of deaf, there are

few opportunities for deaf people to go to

school or to learn a trade. In Gambia, there is

only one deaf school in Kanifeng. The school is

very active and also provides good secondary

education! In addition, only a few years ago in

the Casamance, which is a place where we will

be visiting, the first school for the deaf

opened in Thionck Essyl, a large village. Deaf

children from all over the region go to school

here. On some previous trips, we learned about

this school and we are impressed by the

performance of its teachers and students.

Program from Day to Day

Day 1: Arrive at the airport Banjul (Gambia)

we go to a very nice place located Kasumay

Lodge (http://www.kasumaylodge.com We

spend the night there.

Day 2: We acclimatise and enjoy the day

boating on the river, bird watching and

possibly, we will see marine animals.

Day 3: Today we visit the deaf school in

Serekunda, St. Johns School for the Deaf.

Then we go to Marakissa River Camp

(http://www.marakissarivercamp.nl), a

beautiful vantage point on the river. Here we

spend the night.

Day 4: We now cross the border into Senegal,

and reach Abene, where our centre,

O'Dunbeye Land,

(http://www.odunbeyeland.com) is located.

After unpacking our luggage, we will go to the

beach and take a dip in the sea. At the end of

the afternoon there is a musical welcome to

the centre.

Day 5: In the morning, we have some quiet

time. In the afternoon we visit the village,

especially the artists' centre and the holy

tree, Bantan Woro

Day 6: A day for everyone: we can choose to

go to the beach or walk to the nearby village

Niafrang, or just relax… We will enjoy the

evening meal in an African village with

Boubacar Sow, our (deaf) guide.

Day 7: We will walk along the beach to nearby

Kafoutine or we can take public transportation

to get there, depending on your energy! There

we will visit the market and fishing port. We

will have lunch in Kafountine and return home.

Day 8: Today we will go into the bush! We willl

18

visit the Diola - Katack village. You will see the

Koumpo, a traditional mask dance. Of course

we will dance with them! An African meal will

be prepared for us. This will be a day that you

will not easily forget!

Day 9: A day of rest! Or.... for lovers a trip at

sea, with the local fishermen! At night, we will

enjoy an African buffet at Chez Vero, a local

restaurant.

Day 10: We leave in a pirogue (small boat)

from the nearby village Kafountine to

Thionck Essy, a wonderful trip through the

mangroves – we will see many (water) birds.

With a little luck, you will see the otters! We

stay at the local camp, Abeukoum, deep in the

forest, where birds and monkeys will be our

neighbours! The camp was built as a traditional

Diola home: a so-called impluvium. This is a

round adobe building with a ring of rooms

around a walkway. In the middle is a hole in the

roof where the rain can refresh the courtyard.

A cool building! In the evening a performance

of SineDjiba, a traditional dance, - and

percussion group from the Casamance – will

take place.

Day 11: We will visit the school for the deaf

in the village in Thionck Essyl. The students

will show us how the curriculum works. The

board and the teachers will tell us about the

origins of the school, the methodology, and the

desire for further education. If possible, we

will partake in a meal in an African family who

have a deaf child. In the afternoon, we will

attend a workshop sign language!

Day 12: Departure by car from Thionck Essyl

to return to Abene. In Bignona we will lunch at

Le Jardin and there is opportunity for those

who want to go to the bank!

Day 13: This is our last day in Abene, time for

a swim or to maybebuy souvenirs. At night, we

will end the day in a musical atmosphere,

O'Dunbeye Land, and a farewell dinner.

Day 14: We will return to Gambia and visit the

sacred crocodile place. This spiritual soil

(called Folonko) is located in the fishing village

of Kartong. The villagers consider this place as

sacred. The women take ritual baths, wash

their hair with this water or drink from it. It

is said that it cures diseases and promotes

fertility. Then we will lunch is at Boboi Beach

Lodge (http://www.gambia-adventure.com)

where there will also be an opportunity to swim

in the Atlantic Ocean. That night, we will sleep

at the Kasumay Lodge.

Day 15: The holiday is over! Depending on the

time of departure of our flight, we may go

straight to the airport or visit the nearby

town of Brikama.

The school in the Gambia

Booking

When you book the trip we will give you more

specific written information, as well as all

sorts of suggestions on the internet and in

literature for further preparation. There is

also ample attention to practical matters, such

as clothing, money, health, and whatever else

is necessary for this trip.

19

Guidance

The guidance of this journey of this trip, as in

previous years, is led by Kees Twilt. In Abene,

as usual, Babacar Sow will be our deaf guide

At times, a sign language interpreter will be

present.

Nights

During the tour we stay overnight in simple,

well situated and maintained accommodation.

In Abene we will sleep in the cultural centre

O'Dunbeye Land. The sanitary facilities are

common in some accommodations; in other

places, there are toilets and showers in the

rooms. Supplement 1-person O'Dunbeye

Country € 3, - per night. Extra comfort in

Abene € 7, - per person per night (Le Kosseye

(http://www.kossey.com ) Cost:

€ 731, - (excluding airfare). Included in cost

• All the program activities described

• Domestic transportation according to

program, also transport from the airport

• All overnight stays with half board

(breakfast and dinner)

• Tour guide

• Written information to prepare you for the

journey

Not included:

• Other meals and gratuities

• Travel to the airport

• Insurance

• Flight to Banjul Airport

Travel and cancellation insurance,

cancellation policy

In case of accident, participants must have

travel insurance. Cancellation insurance is

strongly recommended. This covers the costs

if a trip must be cancelled or interrupted by

illness for example. Please note: cancellation

must be made within 7 days after booking is

closed. Additionally you may want cancellation

insurance for other costs (accommodation and

activity costs) in connection with bookings for

accommodation, excursions, etc.,

Booking and information:

ctwilt@hotmail.com

Rayovac is supporting a project to help hard of

hearing children in the Ukraine that is backed

by two of Germany‟s most prominent figures.

The hearing aid battery maker is dedicating

considerable support to the „1000 Kinder‟

project set up by Germany‟s Round Table to

help disadvantaged young people in the city of

Odessa.

1000 Kinder is backed by world champion

boxer Wladimir Klitschko and German

politician Kristina Schroeder and aims to

improve the hearing and site of 1,000 of

Odessa‟s young people.

In total Rayovac has donated nearly 100,000

hearing aid batteries in support of the

project, which is being run by members of the

Round-table in the German city of

Aschaffenberg who will visit Odessa three

times over the next few months to deliver

hearing aids and glasses to the children.

For more information visit www.rayovac.eu

20

November 8, 2011

International Research Symposium

Co-organised by the London School of

Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the

World Health Organisation Location: London, U.K.

Theme: Equitable Health Services for People with Disabilities with a Focus on Low and Middle Income Countries

www.equityhealthdisability.com/

November 28 to 30, 2011

The International Federation of Hard of

Hearing Young People (IFHOHYP) has

invited young people aged 18-30 to take part in

the IFHOHYP study session “Striving towards Policy Impact, Awareness Raising and Access to Social Rights” organised in cooperation

with the Council of Europe, to be held at the

European Youth Centre in Strasbourg, France. http://www.ifhohyp.org

November 28 to 30, 2011

AEGIS International Conference Location: Brussels, Belgium

Theme: Accessibility Reaching Everywhere

Topics: scientific and policy developments in

accessible technology http://www.aegis-conference.eu.

November 29 to December 1, 2011

2nd Asia-Pacific CBR Congress Location: Manila, Philippines

Theme: Building Communities for Everyone

Sub-Theme: Mainstreaming Disability in the

Development Agenda http://117.121.222.41/~apcdfoun/cbrapnetwork/?q=

node/1

May 16 to 19, 2012

Canadian Hard of Hearing

Association Conference 2012

Location: Ottawa, Canada

Theme: Wellness and Health for Persons

who are Hard of Hearing around the World

International speakers may want to consider

presenting at this event! For full information,

please read the Call for Proposals at:

http://www.chha.ca/conference/files/Call_f

or_proposals_2012.pdf

Website: http://www.chha.caa

May 30 to June 1, 2012

1st International Congress on

Family-centred Early Intervention

for Children who are Deaf and Hard

of Hearing

Location: Bad Ischl, Austria

Organizing Committee: the FCEI Organizing

Committee & the GPOD (Global Coalition of

Parents of Children Who Are Deaf or Hard

of Hearing) http://www.unapeda.asso.fr/article.php3?id_article=

1512

(Source: UNAPEDA, the French Association of

Parents of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children,

www.unapeda.asso.fr)

June 25 to 28, 2012

IFHOH WORLD CONGRESS

2012 Location: Bergen, Norway

Theme: A Better Quality of Life

www.IFHOH2012.no (see pages 7 and 8)

21

DRPI LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE

Disability Rights Promotion International

(DRPI) has launched its new website. Learn

more about DRPI‟s monitoring projects and

events. On the main page you can read the

latest news headlines about DRPI and global

events. In the About DRPI section, you can

get a clear picture about the DRPI project, its

people and collaborations. DRPI has a number

of publications and resources – including

monitoring reports, training guides and tools

for monitoring disability rights. Browse for

publications. The website organizes DRPI‟s

work into regional pages, allowing you to

explore its Regional Centres and projects in

the five regions where DRPI is working:

Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and

North America. DRPI has Regional Officers

leading our activities in the five regions. We

invite you to stop by the regional office pages

to meet Oswald Tuyizere in Rwanda, Africa,

Chona Sabo in Bangkok, Asia Pacific, Radoš

Keravica in Serbia, Europe, Mihaela Dinca in

Toronto, North America. We are in the final

stages of hiring the Regional Officer for Latin

America. Check back soon to meet the regional

officer who will work in Argentina! There is

always something going on at DRPI. Our DRPI

Asia Pacific Regional Disability Rights

Monitoring Training just finished in Bangkok,

Thailand. Marcia Rioux, DRPI Co-Director and

Chris Lytle, DRPI Research Associate

facilitated the training along with participants

of previous DRPI projects in the Asia-Pacific

region, Lauro Purcil of the Philippines and

Nathan Bond of New Zealand. The regional

training was co-hosted by DRPI‟s regional

partner Disabled Peoples‟ International-Asia

Pacific. Please contact us at drpi@yorku.ca

with any feedback, suggestions or comments.

You can now find DRPI on Facebook and follow

us on Twitter at #DRPI global!

HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF

AMERICA UPDATES WEBSITE

Our friends in the USA have a newly updated

website: www.hearingloss.org. You can look

through it by searching under “events”,

“convention”, “convention archives, 2011

photos” and you can find, for example, some

photos of the very successful Second

International Hearing Loops Conference in

Washington, D.C. last summer.

TINNITUS RESEARCH

On August 19-21, 2011, the 5th TRI Meeting

took place in Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. Two

hundred clinicians and scientists from all over

the world met to discuss the latest findings in

tinnitus research, to exchange ideas and to

identify the most promising directions for

further research.

When TRI started 5 years ago, with the belief

that the neuroscientific approach would

be the key for finding a solution for tinnitus,

this approach had not been the mainstream

in tinnitus research. Over time, more and more

clinicians have shared this belief and

- even more important - more and more bright

neuroscientists have discovered tinnitus

as their major research area. Thus, in the last

years this approach has made incredible

progress. To read the 17th TRI Newsletter,

please use the following link:17th TRI

Newsletter

Continued on the next page…

22

CANADIAN HARD OF HEARING

ASSOCIATION PRESENTS ITS NEW

NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

On October 13, 2011, the Canadian Hard of

Hearing Association (CHHA) announced the

appointment of Robert A. Corbeil as its new

National Executive Director. According to

Louise Normand, CHHA National President:

“Mr. Corbeil brings extensive experience in

non-profit organizations management;

considerable experience in project

management, marketing and business

development; expertise in refining and

implementing effective strategic plans; and a

fresh perspective and creative ideas regarding

how CHHA can improve its service to

members.”

“I am glad to be a part of the CHHA family.”

said Mr.

Corbeil. “Our

mission is to

raise public

awareness

concerning

issues that

are

important

for persons

who are hard

of hearing, to promote their integration in

Canadian society, to remove any barriers to

their participation and to generally make every

community in Canada a better place for

persons who are hard of hearing.” He adds,

“The statistics speak for themselves. It is

estimated that 10% of Canadians or over three

million people have a hearing loss. It is a

modern and growing problem! CHHA has an

important role to play and we want to be part

of the solution.”

KUDUwave PASSES EUROPEAN

STANDARDS

The KUDUwave 5000 audiometer passed the

European standards for audiometry last year

in April, 2010. This was achieved after two

weeks of rigorous testing at Intertek in the

UK, an industry leader in testing and

inspections, with extensive global

accreditations. The KUDUwave achieved a

pass in tests for IEC60645-1, IEC60645-2

and IEC60601-1.

SANS10083 for occupational health

requires that all audiometers used for

audiometry testing must comply to IEC60645-

1. The KUDUwave is a type 2 clinical

audiometer as classified by IEC60645-1. This

confirms the KUDUwave can be used for

screening AND diagnostic testing in

occupational health care. Medgo is the sole

distributor for the KUDUwave, manufactured

by GeoAxon. For further information please

contact Dr Dirk Koekemoer (MBChB) -

Managing Director

Medgo (Pty) Ltd

info@medgo.co.za

011 083 7727 | 08611MEDGO

Continued on the next page…

23

JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME

DIAGNOSED WITH HEARING LOSS

The well-known actor Jean-Claude Van Damme,

(his films include Blood Sport and Universal Soldier) has been diagnosed with high-

frequency hearing loss. In his many action

films, Jean-Claude Van Damme was exposed to

many loud noises and sudden explosions. That

has had a negative effect on his hearing.

According to his doctor, there is a difference

in hearing in the high frequencies in both of

his ears. This means that Van Damme

experiences difficulties when several people

are talking at the same time. He may hear the

sounds but they don‟t make sense to him. “You

hear, but you can‟t understand”, his doctor

says. The doctors have advised him to protect

his hearing so as to ensure that it is not

damaged further.

(Source: www.torontosun.com)

ACCOLADES FOR RAYOVAC’S

MERCURY FREE BATTERIES

Rayovac has won the international „Stevie‟

Business Awards in recognition of its new AVA

(added voltage agent) mercury free battery.

The product enhances mercury free

performance with a higher operating voltage

and is being introduced following a significant

ongoing investment in battery research and

development. Recipients of International

Stevie Award trophies were selected from

more than 3,000 entries received from more

than 40 nations: www.stevieawards.com/iba

NEW BOOK ON “MAKING NOISE”

Making Noise: From Babel to the Big Bang and Beyond is the title of a new book by Hillel

Schwartz, a visiting scholar at the University

of California, San Diego. The author describes

her work as follows: “Among other things, the

book puts into historical and international

perspective the origins and extent of hearing

loss, attitudes towards degrees of deafness,

legal-industrial responses to it, and the

changing experiences of hearing loss and of

the wearing of hearing aids”

HEARING LOSS IN TEENAGERS

LINKED TO SECOND-HAND SMOKE

U.S. researchers have found evidence to add

hearing loss to second-hand smoke's growing

list of negative health effects. Strange as it

may sound, a recent analysis showed that

second-hand smoke may harm areas other than

the respiratory system in teenagers.

http://www.enn.com/health/article/42970

Articles and announcements are welcome!

Please send to journal@ifhoh.org.

24

http://www.ifhoh.org/

The International Federation of Hard

of Hearing People (IFHOH) is an

international non-governmental

organization representing the

interests of more than 300 million

hard of hearing people worldwide.

IFHOH is registered as a charitable

organization at Vereinsregister

Amtsgericht Hamburg, Germany (Nr.

69 VR 10 527) and is also an

International Non-Governmental

Organization having special

consultative status with the United

Nations’ Economic and Social

Council (ECOSOC).

IFHOH is a member of the

International Disability Alliance (IDA)

and works closely with the UN

system using the Convention on the

Rights of Persons with Disabilities as

a tool for change.

IFHOH Board: Katja Vis, Ulf Ollson, Ahiya Kamara, Marcel Bobeldijk and Ruth Warick

IFHOH Board President, Ruth Warick (Canada)

Vice-President, Ahiya Kamara (Israel) General Secretary, Ulf Olsson (Sweden)

Treasurer, Katja Vis (Finland) EFHOH Representative, Marcel

Bobeldijk (The Netherlands)

IFHOH JOURNAL

The deadline for submissions for the next

issue is December 15, 2011. Contributions

are welcome!

The preferred length for articles is one

page (400 to 500 words). Short and long

articles, from 25 to 1,500 words, may also

be accepted. News bites and

announcements of coming events are

appreciated. We are grateful for

photographs and illustrations. Please send

pictures in jpeg format and files as rich

text or word documents. Many thanks!

Carole Willans, IFHOH Journal Editor

journal@ifhoh.org