JDA Magazine Paperturn Sept 2024 - Flipbook - Page 23
How does it feel at JDA?
Sophie tells us she 昀椀nally feels part of a
community, accepted for who she is, valued,
and surrounded by people who are friendly,
helpful and supportive.
Ruby agrees and, having once felt excluded
from both the Deaf community and the
hearing world, she has 昀椀nally found her place.
She feels safe and comfortable at JDA.
How did you start running BSL/Deaf
Awareness sessions together?
“The mother of a deaf child at Brownies asked JDA for
help and Jody encouraged us to create and run some
sessions together. We were nervous, but we knew we
could do it as we had each other!” They have now
delivered training for 2 groups of Brownies,
a Scouts group and a school.
Ruby and Sophie were so excited by how keen the
children were to learn and the questions they 昀椀red
at them. “We were buzzing!!” they told us. They
encouraged the children to take their learning
home and teach their families.
One Brownie leader said “I don’t know how you got
them to sit still for an hour! This never happens.
And they were so focused!”
How have you changed since
volunteering at JDA?
Ruby and Sophie’s BSL and cooking skills, their
con昀椀dence and self-esteem, their hope for the
future — have all soared and their lives are
improved in so many ways.
Sophie says that, through JDA, she has found her
personality again.
She passed BSL Level 2 at JDA (with top marks!)
and has taught BSL to her family… and her dog,
Buddy! She performed signed songs on social
media with her friend Carly, who she met in class,
to raise awareness of JDA.
She is now a solo social media sensation,
con昀椀dently expressing herself through dazzling
solo performances. She can’t wait to perform live
at Deaf Rave Festival in October 2024!
Ruby has completed BSL Level 3 and plans to go
on to Level 4. JDA brought Ruby into the Deaf
community and Sophie helped her understand
and accept her hearing loss. She loves spending
time with people she wouldn’t normally interact
with and knowing how appreciated she is.
Here with us, Ruby is always happy and smiling,
full of life and joyfulness.
What might you do next?
Ruby would like to continue to support Deaf
people and sees herself as a Communication
Support Worker. Having gained con昀椀dence
through helping Deaf people with learning
di昀케culties, she would like to use her art skills to
work with them in the future.
Sophie absolutely loved teaching BSL and Deaf
Awareness to children – and to her family - and
wants to do more of that. She also sees herself
using her performing arts training and BSL to
interpret music for Deaf people. The best news
is - now that Sophie has her con昀椀dence back, she
believes she may have a future in theatre after all.
Meanwhile, we’re lucky to have both these
amazing women as part of Team JDA at Dcafe!
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