Valerie is among the first deaf students in our region to gain entrance into high school.

Some call it a miracle. Others still find it hard to believe. Until the Centre for the Advancement of the Handicapped (CAH) opened its school six years ago, most thought that their deaf children were unteachable—not worth anything.

Recently, we held a meeting for all of the parents of our 265 students. To begin the meeting, we performed a demonstration with three of our students: one blind, one deaf, and one physically disabled. The blind student read a message in braille to the physically disabled student, who then used sign language to give the message to the deaf student. The deaf student wrote the message on the chalk board for all of the parents to read: "We the handicapped, the blind, and the deaf, have the right to an education. Please do not deny us this right."

During the demonstration, the gasps and whispers of the parents were audible. Many of them had never seen a blind person read, nor a deaf person communicate.

In June, 15 of the students took the national exam to complete primary school and enter high school for the first time in the school’s history. These 15 students have passed through our entire program as our first class, advancing each year as the oldest class. Three of the students are deaf, eight have various physical handicaps, and four are non-handicapped.

Fourteen of the class of 15 passed the test, giving our school the highest passing rate of all the schools in the area. In addition, we believe that our three deaf students may be the first deaf students in our region ever to pass this exam.

We are excited to see the progress of both our students and our young school. This success is a testament to God’s work in our school, in our teachers' lives, and in the lives of our students. We give Him all the glory!

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Pray for these kids and the leaders of this ministry, and please consider giving a regular donation to the Centre for the Advancement of the Handicapped. Thank you for participating in what God is doing through SIM!