Deaf Hearing United... 

…in local homes, schools, workplaces and the wider community

Sharing language, legacy, life, and opportunity.  Stronger together                   

DHU is the vision & name of a small group of  individuals, churches and local advocates who partner Adam & Helen Fielder, its coordinators. Adam & Helen are on staff  with Youth With a Mission’s, Bridge of Healing base, PO Box 442, Arua, Uganda.    www.facebook.com/pages/Fielders-Deaf-Hearing-United-mission-in-Uganda             www.deafconnections.blogspot.com              E-mail: fielder34@hotmail.co.uk

Dear Friends & Partners,

Happy New Year! We missed being with our family and friends in the UK over Christmas. So I(Adam) enjoyed my brief visit to the UK, as did Helen her visit in Oct/Nov.  Thanks to all we met for your hospitality, feedback etc

   Three of the five projects we left running during our year in UK progressed well.

Partners who ran projects had more autonomy, but were expected to give the same level of accountability. We’ve both  travelled much with our projects too, so please excuse the long wait for this news  We hope this update encourages you too. Shalom. Ad/Helen

Family sign language sessions continue

Eight of Aisha’s friend’s (above), including us, recently volunteered to help teach two family sign-language sessions at our deaf friend Aisha’s home for their neighbours/nearby friends/relatives The first  session was attended by 20+children and the second attended by six adults.  The children were excited & enthusiastic to learn. Aisha’s family made the family sign sheet display in the background, refreshments at the second session. Again, helping local partners to fully self-sustain these sessions is our aim.

 

   

Two more deaf building/carpentry student graduated …recently alongside their hearing peers. Deaf graduates, Samuel and Churchill, (right), are from Kitgum, 7hrs drive from Arua. They were particularly thankful as no such opportunity exists in their home area. The other two deaf students did not reach the new higher national standard  required this year. We’ve now been welcomed to support local efforts to support local literacy and numeracy teachers to meet this development.

Go for Growth Youth Camp

Five more deaf youth staffing/joined this camp last month. It was really fruitful, thanks to a great team effort on the part of all the staff and students involved (see below). We were inspired by Colossians 2:19. This passage helped our team see how effective crop and personal / team growth have much in common.
   South Sudan was our field placement where we endeavoured to build trust, unity, confidence and hope through sport, strategy games, music workshops and practical support. Together we created songs, a giant xylophone and dramas. We also cannibalized broken wheelchairs to make one good one to help a man who has had to crawl on his hands for much of life. In the remote mountain village, bush-rat was our Sunday lunch. Very fresh, local, remarkably tasty. But the bush fires used to catch bush meat sometimes spread…

Joint Signed/Spoken Services

These followed several significant meetings with our key local partners where much reconciliation took place.  Now, for the first time, our newly-named Signed Services of our newly-named Signing Fellowship are published alongside all the spoken ones. We are co-leading the other services once every three months. The arrangement is reciprocal. So Lydia, from our Signed Fellowship, was invited to preach Feb 1st  in sign-language, in all three of St Phillips spoken services that morning. She did so through our expanding team of interpreters, led by Jonathan(below last Sunday.

   That memorable experience, (below),  was witnessed for the first time by over 200 people at each. Twelve members of our signed fellowship attended. DHU are supporting Lydia to train as a deaf pastor. She’s progressing  well. The following flow charts show the common approach these developments fit within.

How we are now uniting local deaf and hearing family members:

How we are now uniting deaf and hearing at St. Phillips, Arua:

How we united deaf & hearing youth through the ‘Go for Growth’ Camp:

Families Restored
Helen: Every Tuesday from 5-6pm children and parents have been invited to participate in a creative reading programme with a Christian focus. This programme has run for several years, but is now evolving into a new phase which I’ll explain next time.   

   So in December we celebrated the end of an era, with a Christmas concert and practical activities. More than 100 children (left) attended with some 15 parents from the community. It was great.  

Our Day-after-Boxing Day race had about 20 runners aged 7 to 50+.It was great to see four deaf competing, all finishing in the top six. Next year, one deaf girl has said she’ll compete too.

Finally…  Do contact us if you can financially partner us. Please pray(*) for wisdom/unity for our plans below. (Italicised activities to be confirmed) Shalom. Adam & Helen, Joint Coord DHU

            

Family News

Jerome: Hey! In the last few months I've settled back into university and I've decided to concentrate on uni work more this year which means I've had to drop out of my commitments with the OTC.

   However, I’ve been more involved with the Christian Union. Its great! I help run a weekly event called Globe Café. It’s for international students on campus to come and relax and make friends with each other. Becky and I from the CU come to help. We also invite them along to church and other christian events. This week I invited Dad to talk about his and Mum’s work in Uganda.    I’ve been paintballing and watched Argentina Vs Portugal at Old Trafford with Laurence. Good fun! Thanks

Maria:Hi! I’m enjoying tutoring a Chinese student in English and also working on a marketing and promotions campaign for a local social enterprise, Treasured Steps (see www.treasurek.com for more info). I’m learning a lot of new things! I officially launched our product 'Treasure K' at St Nicholas Primary School Hull! I presented the product to KS1 parents and then to the whole school at the following Christmas Fair. We were joined by local Cllr Steve Wilson, Diana Johnson MP as well as BBC Radio Humberside and KCFM who supported the launch and the donation of sets to the school.

   I am now on an ICS TearFund volunteer placemen10 weeks in Bolivia till early April. While there I will be working with a local social enterprise to help fund a nearby school and provide grants for street children to attend. My fundraised through a sponsored 20 mile run, ‘Live Below the Line’ challenge (living on £1 a day for food for 5 days), jazz night, open mike event, race night. For more information about what I’m up to, and for more regular updates, see www.themakingsofmaria.wordpress.com. To support of for more info about the projects please visit my just giving page at: https://www.justgiving.com/Maria-Fielder/  Thx  

 Laurence: Hi! I’m now staying with one family full-time after three months with two friends of our family on a monthly alternate basis. I’m playing for a local football team called Higham. We enjoyed our first win 3-1 at home in November, with a full team at last. I’m studying hard, taken up English and changed to  Ancient history, from History, B tech Business from Economics. I enjoyed a weekend with Jerome recently, inc. paintballing and am going out more with friends from college. I enjoyed my grandparents 59th wedding anniversary marked by a 16mile bike ride. This year I am visiting my friends/parents in Uganda and S Korea.