Manos Unidas Nicaragua

1. Manos Unidas Nicaragua Marie Coppola, MA, PhD Founder and Executive Director Mansfield Lions Club November 13, 2012

2. A little about me • My parents are Deaf and use American Sign Language • Attended MIT, where I got involved with research in Nicaragua in 1994; received my PhD in 2002 • Founded Manos Unidas in 2005 while at the University of Chicago • 2010: Moved to Connecticut to take a position at UConn • Passionate advocate for deaf children’s access to sign language in Nicaragua and in the US

3. A little about Nicaragua Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere, with extremely limited resources devoted to education, in particular special education.

4. Sign languages: (like spoken languages) • Are natural languages used by communities of people (they are not invented) • Differ from country to country • Have equal expressive and communicative power as spoken languages • Must be learned early in childhood to be learned well (ideally, from birth)

5. Children need language • Sign language guarantees deaf children a language foundation that gives them access to communication, education, and the world • Deaf children who have early access to sign language (Mayberry 2002): • Are not language delayed • Have better reading outcomes • Perform like their hearing peers on standardized tests

6. Deafness and spoken language • Severely and profoundly deaf children rarely acquire spoken language successfully, even with interventions readily available in the US, such as hearing aids and intensive speech therapy • Acquiring, adjusting, and maintaining hearing aids and getting therapy is not possible for most deaf children in Nicaragua

7. The impact of deafness in Nicaragua • Many deaf children and adults either live too far from a school for special education, or cannot afford to pay for transportation to school or school supplies. • They do not hear well enough to learn the Spanish spoken around them and therefore do not acquire ANY language, spoken or signed.

8. Our vision: Expand and improve education for deaf students

9. Programs in development • We are creating two community-based programs in rural areas to reach deaf children with no other educational options • We are identifying and training local teachers to work with this special population of deaf students

10. Programs in development • Expand the number of interpreters available at one of the two high school programs for deaf students in the country (population 5.8 million) • Identifying vocational opportunities and supporting apprenticeships for deaf graduates with signing mentors (e.g., graphic design, pastry chef)

11. Our Vision • Expand the number of secondary school programs beyond 2 • Support certification programs in Deaf Education (currently there is no special education training of any kind in the country) • Enlarge the pool of trained educational sign language interpreters • Train Deaf signing teachers and help them get certified to teach in deaf classrooms

12. How you can help • Manos Unidas is looking for additional board members with abilities in fundraising • Financial support for our education programs • Teacher training, transportation, materials • Sign up for our newsletter • Share our flyers

13. Manos Unidas is a federally-recognized charitable organization under section 501(c)3 of the United States Internal Revenue Service code • Manos Unidas is a member of the Connecticut Association of Non-Profits Thank you for your time!