Social participation as a meaningful occupation
Fundraising by Javiera Escarate
Occupational therapy at Proyecto Sol started in 2011 from the initiative of students in professional practices at Universidad Nacional Andrés Bello, who were unfamiliar with the world of the Deaf community, since in their undergraduate training they learned about Deaf people from a medical paradigm. However, when they arrived at Proyecto Sol they were faced with a new reality for them, but one that dates back many years, where they integrated a social paradigm and human rights approach in their work as future health professionals.
From here, begins my professional experience in Proyecto Sol, where I started in 2019 as a student of 5th year of occupational therapy, being accompanied once a week by the teacher Vicky Parraguez. This first approach was for 9 weeks, where I was able to appreciate the precariousness that exists in the country regarding the promotion of the rights of people, especially those who belong to the minority, where the lack of access to basic occupations such as education was a strong and negative impact on their lives, excluding them only to housework and simple tasks, where third parties continued to decide for them, being adults, but with a "medical diagnosis" of deafness. At the end of this experience I feel that I grew both personally and professionally, since I realized the importance of direct and continuous treatment that has a positive impact on the personal processes of each person, especially to do a situated work, considering all aspects of the person, including their culture. Therefore, I made a great effort to learn Chilean Sign Language (LSCh) from the participants.
From 2020 to the present, I am living the experience of being an occupational therapist in the community area, specifically with Deaf women in the sun project, where my professional work is under a gender perspective and rights approach. Although I started from a volunteer work to reactivate the activities, in the middle of the pandemic, in order to educate the use of personal protective equipment through visual strategies and administrative efforts, I kept over the years to recognize the importance of promoting the participation of the participants and their sense of belonging to the space, which was necessary to have because with this I could make meaningful interventions in space, both individually and collectively. In the year 2022, the school of occupational therapy gave me the opportunity to resume the professional practices in the sun project, in order to accompany new students who are interested in practicing social occupational therapy with deaf people, where we have been working for almost two years to facilitate the individual processes of empowerment of the participants, so they can be the protagonists of their own lives in making decisions and independently perform their daily activities.
Finally, I must emphasize how important it is for all of us to maintain this space of social participation for the people who arrive today, since through the daily sharing I am able to identify their sense of belonging and their interest, recognizing that they feel calm and happy to relate to others. A phrase that I always say to the current participants is "you build the sun project, without you it would have to close", but the truth is that the economic crisis to maintain the installation and a work team, is the main problem to continue.
We arecurrently facing many financial difficulties to be able to plan for the year 2024, so we have started this fundraising campaign that will allow us to continue to exist and to carry out recreational, educational, awareness and cultural activities for the people of the community.deaf.
So here is our plea for help: help us raise the amount needed to keep Project Sunshine open for everyone who needs it. Thank you!
2 €
1%
200 €
A donation
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The fundraiser supports the project: Proyecto Sol - The light of inclusion
Total project goal:
11.000 €
In Chile, the Pope John XXIII Community's Project Sun is aimed at deaf women with the goal of creating new life opportunities for them and enabling them to express their uniqueness without fear of being judged or excluded. Until now, the Center has always been free and funded by the State, but this will no longer be the case. To continue to exist, it urgently needs your help. Support it too!
DONATE
The donation is in euros, as the administrative headquarters of the Pope John XXIII Community, of which Proyecto Sol is a part, is located in Italy. Each donation will be collected in Italy and then disbursed to support the project's activities in Chile. The current exchange rate between Chilean pesos and euros is: 1,000 CLP = 1.06 EUR
