Dutch family to go to the HLID for 6 months
As a family
René has been active in the society Friends of the Holy land Institute for the Deaf for many years. He has often visited the Institute to prepare the newsletter and, together with other Dutch colleagues, to upgrade the ICT equipment. This time he will stay for a longer period, together with his wife Tanja and their children Thomas and Joanne. René: “This way we as a family can all contribute to the excellent work of the Institute.”
Music lessons
René will continue to work on the ICT system, but will also, odd though it may seem, teach music lessons to the deaf children. Exactly how that will work will become clear by experience. But what will the other family members do? Tanja: “As a mother of two I know that in a house with 150 children there is always enough to do. I expect to be able to assist in the boarding house and also the deafblind unit. Initially though I will be busy teaching our own children, that in itself is quite a challenge.”
Opposites
Tanja: ”I have visited the Institute twice now. It seems that there they do things in a very different way to us at home. In the Netherlands many things are done on group level, whereas at the Institute things are approached individually. In the coming months I will, together with Thomas and Joanne, reflect on how we can contribute to the work that is done at the Institute. We also want to learn from customs and habits that are in use there.”
Safety
People keep asking René and Tanja whether they are nervous about going to Jordan. René: ”If it were to become dangerous for us as a family, then the same would be the case for the deaf children in Jordan. Should we then have to leave them, or just stay? To be frank I don’t really know the answer and I try not to think about it too much. When uncertainty arose about the validity of our visa and Thomas heard us talking about that, he immediately asked:”We will go, won’t we?” That made up our minds. We would rather go tomorrow.”
Loom, Lego, ‘snoezel’ and ICT
There is no need for financial assistance for their stay. Yet people ask how they are going to occupy themselves. René: “We have set ourselves some goals.” Thomas:”My goal is to gather Lego. Everyone knows Lego. It will be nice to share my passion with the deaf boys in Jordan and ‘build’ a connection by giving them their own Lego.” Joanne: ”I want to make nice things with the deaf girls. Therefore I am collecting money to buy Kumihimo, Loom and knitting rings.” Already they have collected enough money for their goals. But they continue to collect for the goals of their parents. Tanja is saving for a ‘snoezelkamer’, a room where the deafblind children can relax, and René’s goal is ICT apparatus. They regularly check their mail for new donations. “It’s very encouraging when another donation comes in. It makes us grateful. At the same time we realise that now it is our turn to act. And that we shall do; all four of us for the One.
The Institute welcomes volunteers that want to help and stay for at least half a year. If you are interested, please contact Tim Martin: timjmartin2@gmail.com.
< Back to the overview
Tweet |