Options, an OSI Grantee, Improves Conditions for Deaf Children and Adults in Mongolia

Options is a three-year research and service program for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, young adults, and adults in Mongolia. The program aims to improve early childhood education; develop a clear picture of the needs of children and adults with hearing disabilities; operate an audiological/communication center; increase public awareness of the important issues of deaf and hard-of-hearing people; and develop special learning materials for them.

The program has carried out the following activities since March 2007:

• Organized a National Deaf conference with the participation of 350 deaf and hard-of-hearing children, young people, and adults where they introduced the Options program to the public and discussed related educational issues;
• Produced a TV program with Mongolian National Television to inform the public about deaf children's lives, educational issues, School 29 (the only deaf and hard of hearing school in Mongolia) and Bambaruush Kindergarten, the first kindergarten for the deaf;
• Supported the formation of the Mongolian Deaf Youth Section and organized monthly meetings of Mongolian deaf young people to exchange information and to learn more about deaf and hard-of-hearing people and their interests;
• Organized trainings according to deaf young people's educational needs;
• Developed curricula for teacher-training and students;
• Worked on a follow-up movie to A Destiny Not Chosen, which was produced in a previous MEA project, Sign and Learn , funded by the International Deaf Children's Society, and presented in Mongolia and internationally by Inner Mongolian Television;
• Made arrangements for the opening of the audiology/communication center;
• Tested student and teacher curricula at Bambrush Kindergarten;
• Continued to offer educational programs such as English, American Sign Language, computer literacy, health issues, hearing culture, and laws;
• Continued to support the development of the Deaf Youth Association and a Professional Interpreting Service.

In 2008-2009, Options aims to:

• Start courses in the Preschool Teachers' College of the Mongolian National University of Education;
• Work with the Ministry of Education to create a new license for Teacher of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children;
• Conduct research in central and western Mongolia through the audiology/communication center;
• Establish an Internet/education center in Ulaanbaatar that provides computer-based training and Internet access;
• Host a major international conference (in 2009);
• Produce a language improvement program and materials for children with hearing impairments.

The program discovered a three-generation deaf family living in a remote area of the country and brought two of the grandchildren to Ulaanbaatar. Nine-year-old Dashjamts is now going to the School for the Deaf and lives in the school dormitory. His sister, 21-year-old Galya, is working in a bakery.

The Education Support Program is the main sponsor of Options. F.I.R.E, an American NGO, and the Israeli-Mongolian Foundation are preparing 50 used computers from the U.S. for Internet/education centers at the Mongolian Youth Federation, School 29, and the Mongolian Deaf Citizens Federation, all of which are providing space at no cost.

Options aims to partner with the Ulaanbaatar Rotary Club to visit areas in the countryside in search of other children with hearing disabilities who may not be receiving appropriate educational services.