Deaf Colombians In Need

According to Gallaudet News, a group of 16 Gallaudet students are helping a deaf Colombian school get things they need, such as mattresses and funds towards a new building that they would like to own. The school, named the Fundación Helen Keller , which is located outside of Bogotá, Colombia, had only one desktop computer for its 35 students and five staff and volunteers. The class from Gallaudet contributed $1,500 toward two mini laptops and a CD reader for the foundation. According to the article, Anthony Harrison, a business administration major in the class, said that "the students are very poor, and they live in the mountains where it's always cold," and that the youngsters "all slept under sheets atop thin mattresses". You can make a difference in the lives of the students and give them the warmth and comfort that they need by sending your donation to the following information, which can be found at the Fundación Helen Keller's blog, 
 http://hellenkeller-fundacion.blogspot.com/:

Representative Legal Norma Cantor Suaza
Cra. 10 D No. 22-35
sur Barrio sociego.
Bogota, Colombia
Tel. 3668641 . Fax. 6948479
Cel. 3125202927.
fundacionhellenkeller@gmail.com

The foundation is a nonprofit foundation, created in 1999 and legally incorporated on October 25, 2002. Its mission is to create a pleasant and safe haven for girls and deaf children from low-income families with scarce resources who live in areas where there are a few educational opportunities for the hearing-impaired. It was named after the famous blind-and-deaf American Helen Keller for whose life was an inspiration to the school.
  
It is estimated that in South America's oldest and most stable democracy, Colombia, there are about 2 million deaf and hard of hearing people. An estimated 250,000 deaf people use Colombian Sign Language (LSC).  FENASCOL - Federación Nacional de Sordos de Colombia (National Federation of the Deaf of Colombia) is the country's national association of the deaf. SordoColombianos is Colombia's popular deaf culture website. There is a blog, Amigos Sordos Colombianos, but I do not know if it is associated with the organization SordosColombianos. For more information on the deaf in Colombia, you can visit Jamie Berke's webpage, Deaf Community - Colombia. 

Jamie Berke wrote in 2008 that part of Colombia was still at war. Actually, in the past Colombia has had a series of internal armed conflicts between guerrilla insurgencies such as the FARC and paramilitary groups such as the AUC as well as the anti-narcotics force and the drug traffickers. In addition there were occasional border skirmishes between Colombia and its neighbor, Venezuela. Today, however, insurgencies and kidnappings have declined in Colombia, security has improved in areas of the country, and the government is making strides in its fight against narcotic trafficking. But the State Department advises that violence by narco-terrorist groups continues to affect some rural areas as well as large cities and that the potential for violence by terrorists and other criminal elements exists in all parts of the country.  Those of you who wish to travel to Colombia are still advised to consult with the State Department or with the U.S. Embassy to Colombia for safety and precautions. Information on traveling to Colombia can be found here at the State Department's travel advisory.

Handwaves to the group of Gallaudet students for their help!