Emergency Houses Role Out

I saw the government damage  statisics yesterday for Bohol from the quake and it reported 78,000 damaged structures and 6,800 homes totally destroyed.  Many of the people who lost their home to the quake are living in tents so the time is NOW to get emergency housing to them.  That is EXACTLY what IDEA is doing. This week 10 homes …

Housing Site needing cleared

Volunteers Needed!

Housing Site needing cleared   Housing panels are stacked up in the back and covered with tarps waiting for their final destination.  We are now in the process of assessing the sites where they will be set up.  Each site poses its own set of difficulties.  Some need a wall or two other need complete demolition of a partially demolished house …

LIAD’s Response to the Grief-Stricken IDEA/Bohol

Leyte Island Association for the Deaf would not have been born and cared for without the support of IDEA. Through the partnership, IDEA is supporting about 149 deaf children through four elementary schools and one high school. It is because of IDEA that the deaf children in its funded programs have the chance for a “tomorrow” and can actually “live” …

Is There a Doctor in the House?

IDEA Philippines is so blessed to have visitors come from all over the world to share their gifts and talents with our deaf students. Atena with students at Loon     Recently we had a group of young adults come from America for a visit.  Two of the individuals, Kristi Trickett and Peter Nguyen had just finished their first year …

NEW IDEA SHOP RISES

It has been a long time dream to move the IDEA shop work out from the shacks and tents that currently house it.  The raising of the trusses on the new shop building is finally happening but in a way that is pretty amazing to those from developed nations like the U.S.  In the States heavy duty crane trucks would …

Back to School

Back to School   As summer comes and graduations commence it’s hard to imagine that on this side of the globe the children are just getting settled into a new year of school. Here in the Philippines summer break is during the hottest months, April and May. Searching for the Deaf Throughout these past two months our teachers have been …

Bohol Deaf Academy Graduation 2013

BDA Dancers Graduation BDA Dancers Graduation With all the usual pomp and circumstance the graduation ceremony began for the graduates of 2013 at the Bohol Deaf Academy. The students dawned in their white cap and gowns marched in escorted by parents or siblings to a room full of proud teachers, families, visitors and flashing cameras. Six young women and three …

Birth of a Dream

Trusses for the New Building Like elves working in Santa’s workshop the skilled craftsmen of IDEA tinker away making magic happen.  Truckloads of steel and wood pass by the IDEA office windows and past the entrance to the Dao Diamond hotel to a forgotten hideaway at the back of the property. At first glance the shop area looks like it …