One of IDEA’s Employment and Income Generating Projects (EIGPs) is the construction shop, now officially named Hammer and Nails Livelihood Center, Inc. (HNLC). The majority of its employees were once our deaf-student beneficiaries. Now, the number of our deaf graduates is undeniably increasing and it comes with IDEA’s increasing need to find employment for the skilled Deaf. IDEA is seeking …
In the midst of a busy morning in July, all of us stopped what we were doing as we saw John enter our IDEA office with his teacher. He looked very weak and pale. He was coughing and could barely get his feet moving. Our greeting, “How are you John,” went unanswered which was unusual for him. We all know …
Three years after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Bohol and damaged the dormitories housing our deaf students, the Loon Special Education (SPED) students have been provided with a fully furnished, two-story dormitory designed to withstand earthquakes. The memory of that traumatic earthquake is still fresh to all who lived through it, but we also remember the gracious gifts that came …
Darkness faded away and the golden rays of the sun started to break out. The students jumped out of their beds in excitement as the days they have been preparing for had finally come – the Bohol Deaf Academy Intramurals. The beating of the snare drums and large plastic water tank (the students’ improvised drum) blended with the students’ various-pitched …
So many of our students would never have the opportunity to receive this quality of dental care. Through the generosity of these dentists and the sponsors who so graciously pay for them to be at IDEA’s schools, they are able to receive not just an education, but care for their physical needs as well.
Now that 2014 has come to a close we can look back on it as a time of rebuilding, recovering and rejoicing. We know that 2015 will also hold its share of triumphs and tragedies but we know that God has a plan for all these things and can turn disasters into blessings.
Bohol Deaf Academy’s old, leaky, rust bucket of a van has at long last been replaced by a beautiful, new roomy, air conditioned beauty. At least it is new to us. It is actually a low milage 2007 Mitsubishi L300 that is locally assembled in Manila into what is known as an Asian Utility Vehicle.
The homes are built in our IDEA shop by our deaf carpenters. We are not able to go down to a Home Depot and buy the lumber. Instead we have to order the lumber rough cut by chainsaw and then bring it into our shop to mill it down to ship-lap siding and studs. It is a very labor and equipment intensive effort. The homes are then either built in knockdown form or totally assembled and delivered to the building site on a trailer or truck.
Silent Sunday in Bohol Tagbilaran City, Bohol has a pretty large Deaf community. By far, the majority of these deaf attend the Catholic Church as do about 90 % of all Filipinos outside of Southern and Central Mindanao. The other 10% of the population attend various Protestant churches. The Tiptip Deaf Church in Tagbilaran represents only a handful of Independent …
ADVENTURE IN BOHOL Adventure Church team with teachers and students at Loon Central Elementary School, Bohol Philippines The youth from Adventure Community Church in Duvall Washington came to Bohol this past July. Shortly after the team arrived in Tagbilaran, they were asked what their expectations for the trip were. They responded that they only wanted to serve and were open …
