Diplomatic spouses host Christmas party for the deaf

From: Harare Herald, Zimbabwe - Dec 15, 2003

Herald Reporter

THE Diplomatic Spouses Association hosted an early Christmas party for the children at Henry Murray School for the Deaf in Masvingo and donated a substantial number of notebooks, pens, pencils, rubbers and food recently.

They visited the school, which is situated at Morgenster Mission at the invitation of Mrs Eunice Mudenge, wife of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cde Stan Mudenge.

The chairperson of the DSA, Ms Teresa De Lamos, said it had been a pleasure to visit the school as well as present the children with early Christmas gifts.

"We have been made to understand that what we presented to the children is very essential," she said.

Henry Murray School for the Deaf is one of the special schools for the deaf in Zimbabwe.

Founded in 1947 at Pamushana Mission in Bikita district, it has an enrolment of 172 deaf children and a staff compliment of 32 teachers.

Pupils at the school get trained in speech teaching, auditory training, sign language, metalwork, carpentry, fashion and fabrics and computers.

However, the school is currently going through serious financial problems and administrators are appealing for $2 million to enable them to keep its doors open.

The donors who used to support the school have since stopped.

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