Camps for Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Ukraine

By Adria Pelensky

Back in 2000, Dr. Liudmyla Fomicheva of the Drahomanov State Pedagogical University in Kyiv visited Alberta. This may seem an insignificant detail in history, but as a result of this travel, an important and existing legacy has been established.

The Drahomanov State Pedagogical University is the leading institute for special education in Ukraine. This invitation almost a decade ago was extended by Dr. Michael Rodda, Director of the Western Canadian Centre of Studies in Deafness (WCCSD) as well as the Director of the David Peikoff Chair of Deafness Studies at the University of Alberta. As part of the Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre mandate, the group facilitated a dialogue where Canadians and Ukrainians discussed potential collaborative projects, particularly supporting those with special needs. It was in the midst of this visit that the Canada Ukraine Alliance for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (CUADHHP) was created. Mirroring the same work, but on the Ukrainian side was the Ukraine Canada Alliance for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (UCADHHP). These two non profit organizations were established to create awareness, explore educational practices and promote social justice among citizens affected by hearing loss in their respective regions.

Since its inception, the CUADHHP has fostered educational, social and medical partnerships between organizations working in the realm of deaf and/or hard of hearing support. Designing, funding and implementing a variety of projects that attend to the educational and social needs of individuals that have experience with deafness. Further to that, the CUADHHP along with two major hearing aid manufacturers -GN Resound and Oticon - set out to run a Summer Institute [Camp]. Sixty-one individuals, including teachers of the deaf, school directors, parents, their children, university professors and other professionals, were destined for Crimea. Although scenic and exotic in location, the Institute was part of a program requirement for Ukrainian teachers of the deaf to upgrade their credentials. Unlike anything previous, this experience was particularly unique as it involved parents and their deaf children in a cooperative environment.

The Summer Institutes have since evolved dramatically. Spanning weeks at a time, accommodating hundreds of participants, with host cities including Khust, Luhansk, Pidkamen, Kherson, Odesa, Zaporizhya, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv, to name a few. Typically travelling through a variety of cities, the intention is to develop good interaction and communication among the participating institutions. These relations, particularly for the deaf and hard of hearing, are especially important because they are so recent.

As a Canada-Ukraine joint venture, the Ukrainian Institutes have invited teams of Canadians to offer their expertise. Past delegations have included Dr. Judy Lupart, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Special Education at the University of Alberta, Dr. Debra Russell, David Peikoff Chair of Deafness Studies and WCCSD Director and Dr. Roman Petryshyn, Director of the Ukrainian Resource and Development Centre, among many others. This year, with a shift in season, the Summer Institute morphed into a “Winter Camp”. Under the leadership of Dior Kobel, President of the CUADHHP, Canadian guests included Deena Martin, Program Chair for Disability and Community Studies at Red Deer College and Adria Pelensky, Community Development Project Coordinator for the Canada Ukraine Research Team.

In an interview, Kobel expressed his keen interest in maintaining the strong Ukrainian-Canadian links. “Ukraine has approximately eight million school-aged children, and of them one million have some kind of special need. One eighth is a startling statistic especially considering the state of Special Education in this country. Of the one million, thirty thousand are deaf or hard of hearing. With over thirty years of experience in Special Education, Canadians are a helpful resource at the Institutes.”

With Ukrainian-Canadian communication, knowledge regarding the history of inclusion, education of the deaf, sign language research, special education teacher training and early detection on disabilities are all facilitated. Past discussions have included managing and translating English/Ukrainian educational journal articles on an electronic website that would be accessible to all, also to increase the number of work exchange opportunities for greater development, as well as establishing a new department to inaugurate study on the linguistics of Ukrainian Sign Language (USL). Currently, these projects are all underway.

Of particular importance is the progress made for the USL. Under the Soviet system, sign language was banned in the teaching process and was thus left underdeveloped. In a presentation by this years’ Canadian guest, Deena Martin, it was stated that “the use of Ukrainian Sign Language, USL interpreters and American Sign Language allowed participants to experience the result of quality communication as well as the need for equal access to information. For many, this was the first time they were experiencing USL as a language in its own right.” Her past experiences had parents applauding this change. Recognizing finally that using USL is not wrong or bad, but of potential benefit for their children, and thus their education and social identity, hi 2005, when the National Education Board ruled USL the official language of instruction for deaf children in Ukraine, many attributed this is a direct outcome of the efforts of the UCADHHP Summer Institutes.

This particular year, a Winter Camp was established in Lviv, taking on a slightly different form than the previous summer counterparts. Despite the obvious change in season, and thus slightly varied programming, this camp would offer a more condensed, stationary version with a greater emphasis on inclusion. Operating under the theme, Living Together in the same Community means Interacting and Communicating, children who were deaf, hard of hearing or fully hearing participated in an array of activities together. Guest visitors Zoryana Leniv instructed sessions in Artherapy and artist Oleh Duminets leading workshops for mural design. With cooperative games organized by the group Young Diplomats, the program was rich. Students were extremely fortunate to have Duminets present, as he was in the midst of opening a show at the Dzyga Gallery along with several other deaf artists. With an emphasis on computer work, a web-cast to Edmonton was also arranged to speak to some fellow Canadians. Unfortunately, due to a power failure in Lviv, the web-cast did not go exactly as planned, but we still had a chance to say hello from a nine-hour time difference.

All-in-all, the Camp was considered a success. Having served on the CUADHHP since its inception in 2000, doctoral student in deafness and special education, Deena Martin, stated “I am profoundly in awe of the efforts between these two nations to reform educational practices and policies pertaining to deaf and hard of hearing students. Having now attended a total of four Summer Institutes, I remain in awe of the camaraderie witnessed among the various schools and groups of people coming together, as well as, the commitment and openness to change._j; Despite our collective efforts and shared resources, at times, it feels like we are in the dark. However, it is wonderful to know that our journey is not in isolation or silence - we are united.”