Helping the hearing-impaired

March 1 marked the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps' inception as a worldwide organisation. Since 1961, more than 200,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers in 139 host countries around the world. Peace Corps has been in Jamaica since 1962.

The following is Part three of our five-part series highlighting the work of the Peace Corps in Jamaica. See Part four next Wednesday.

Megan Hicks, Contributor

I DECIDED to become a Peace Corps volunteer to make the most of the special skills and abilities which I possess and believe could be of use to the individuals with whom I would work and live.

For almost a year, I have been sharing my time and energies at the St Christopher's School for the Deaf in Brown's Town, St Ann. Prior to joining the Peace Corps, I was employed as a teacher's assistant at a school in the United States of America, which specialised in sign language. This past role helped to prepare and position me for my primary project at St Christopher's, which was to assist in establishing a school library.

Since May 2010, myself and other staff have revamped the school's library space by sorting through the existing books, giving the room a fresh coat of paint, and hiring an artist from the community, who is also hearing impaired, to paint a beautiful mural depicting the alphabet in sign language. The school has also received donations from various organisations, including the US-based Boston JUMP (Jamaica United Mission for Progress), which donated three barrels of school supplies and over 1,000 books. This generous donation allows students read books both at school and at home and to participate in other reading-related activities during 'Library Time' sessions.

An invaluable skill

As the ability to read and to comprehend is such an invaluable skill, I have endeavoured to use my training, also garnered through the Peace Corps, to help inspire a love for reading among hearing-impaired students. To this end, I have assisted in the implementation of a reading competition where the students receive incentives and students in grades four, five and six participate in a pen-pal programme with a school in California. The students not only learn about another culture, but they improve their writing skills through the pen-pal programme. Through a partnership with USAID, St Christopher's School has also become involved in the Junior Achievement programme, which teaches students financial literacy along with other valuable life skills.

Volunteering in Jamaica has been enormously rewarding. Knowing that I have helped the students increase their motivation to read is extremely gratifying. My Peace Corps service has encouraged the love of books and has encouraged me to continue in the work that I do.