Dolores Gaitán Carrero returned to the center to educate the kids. (Photo: Teresa Valenzuela)

Teacher Dolores Gaitán Carrero promotes the language in the children in the day care center I Woman´s International Year, in East Havana, where deaf and half-deaf children attend; as well as others with retardation in different areas of development.

The sixty five year old teacher, back to work after retirement, carries out a human labor, through the program of development of oral communicative abilities.

Referring to what was mentioned above, the experimented teacher explained that they start from the dominion the children have of the sign language. As what we see, in the circle, each teacher begins his teaching children and their parents, “When the child moves ahead with results in that ability, he initiates what we call bilingual communicative competence that includes oral language.”
“There existed the need of teachers, and they talked to me for my reincorporation,” she says and after sometime at home, I was longing for my work. So, I returned, and now I feel happy for my decision.

Just as to mention the improvement in the language, Gaitán Carrero said that many – as they reached the five years of living- have an oral vocabulary, and many can express themselves with sentences, and show improvement.

She pointed out that the sign language is the mother tongue of deaf people, as it permits them  to relate themselves with the rest with that disability, and others they learn to have a better communication with the others.

Teachers of sign language Tania and Marily with their pupils Zajaris and Mailena. (Photo: Teresa Valenzuela)

The circle opened its doors September 1, 1975 with the presence of comrade Vilma Espín. It represented a great joy for all. It gives services to all municipalities of Havana. It was the first of this type built in Cuba and in Latin America.

It has six rooms, four for deaf and half-deaf children, and two for those with retardation in some development areas, who are treated here since two and a half school years.

The children are assisted by high level therapist assistants, specialists of auditive education, music therapy, speech therapists, psycho pedagogues, and a director assistant, specialist in deafness, all of them with a high professional level.

Worker Emilo Jesús Corrales is in charge of the electronic group of the day care center.

This is a great group of teachers that are characterized by unity; the workers are important; either, worker Emilio Jesús Morales, who cares for the cleaning of the areas, or those female workers who are in charge of cooking the meals, the pedagogic auxiliaries, and the rest of the specialists. All of them have the powerful reason of guaranteeing the welfare of the children.

Pictures of support: Dolores Gaitán Carrero returned to the center to educate the kids.
Teachers of sign language Tania and Marily with their pupils Zajaris and Mailena.

Traductor: Reinaldo Fernández