<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)">
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal>Monire Mose! (Hello, everyone)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I am new to SW and very excited to find it. I am a
volunteer speech therapist at the Embangweni School for the Hard of Hearing in
Malawi, Africa. We began in 1997 to develop a sign language for our
students, who use Chitumbuka as the language of choice (they also must learn
English, Chichewa and often a tribal language). Up till now we have had
no way of visually presenting the signs for new students and new
teachers. I am hoping to be able to use SW for our school.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The school presently has 164 students boarding, ranging in
age from 6 – 20. About 60% are post-lingual deaf; the rest born
deaf. We have 12 classrooms, plus the advanced vocational education
section with an average of 11 students per classroom – much better than
the usual Malawian classroom of 80 to 100 students per teacher! We are
located on a mission station which is a 3 hour drive from the nearest town of
any size. The school has no piped water, but we are lucky to have a
bore-hole (deep water well) close to the classroom block. There is
electricity on station, but it is too expensive for the school to use
except for a very occasional evening meeting at the chapel. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>If you would like to learn more and see pictures of the
school, visit the website <a href="http://www.marionmedical.org">www.marionmedical.org</a>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I imagine I will be on here asking for help a lot!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Tiwonge chomeni! (Thank you very much)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Carol Nussbaumer <i>Mama Kalo</i> to the
Embangweni kids<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>