| In 1974 Tineke de Silva visited Sri Lanka for the first time, the country of her husband Susiri. |
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| Tineke was that time a teacher in a Deaf School in the Netherlands and that was the reason that she was very much interested how the education was arranged for the deaf children in Sri Lanka. |
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| She visited the Ratmalana Deaf School in 1974 where Mr. Cooray was the Principal that time and Mrs. Marie Wijeratne the Pre School teacher. |
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| This Deaf School was in very much need of hearing aids, an audiometer and a speech therapist. Back in the Netherlands Tineke started collecting hearing aids, was sending an used audiometer and a speech therapist from her Dutch Deaf School went for a period of 3 months to Sri Lanka to work as a volunteer in the Ratmalana Deaf School. |
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| After that Susiri and Tineke de Silva came every year to Sri Lanka with collected money of family and friends, to start small Projects like building pre schools and wells in remote villages, together with the Sarvodaya Movement. |
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| Working in the villages, she noticed that the deaf and other handicapped children from the poorest families had no place in the society. They were not taken serious by anybody. The deaf children were treated as mentally retarded children because of ignorance of the villagers. When she asked the principal and teachers in a village school if they could take a deaf girl to their school and help her, as she did not get any education, they looked surprised by this question. They told that this girl can’t hear and can’t talk, so how could they give her an education in a normal school? |
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| In other villages it was the same answer. These deaf children were very isolated and nobody came to their rescue. |
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| Tineke felt very sad. In the Netherlands, her country, everything was organized so beautifully for handicapped children and special for the deaf, so what a big difference in treatment. She got a dream to start a new Deaf School for these unprivileged deaf children. |
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| The Foundation to Support the Dr. Reijntjes School for the Deaf in Sri Lanka |
| In October 1982 Tineke de Silva gave the initiative to form a new Trust to be able to start collecting money for the new Deaf School in Sri Lanka. She told Dr. Reijntjes, the ENT Doctor, who was attached to the Prof. Huizingschool in Enschede where Tineke was a teacher, that she liked to name the new Deaf School in Sri Lanka after him. |
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| He agreed and the Trust was called: The Foundation to support the Dr. Reijntjes School for the Deaf in Sri Lanka. |
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| In July and August 1983 Tineke and husband Susiri went to Sri Lanka to arrange everything to be able to start the Dr. Reijntjes School for the Deaf beginning 1984. |
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| A house at no 68, Rawatawatta Road, Moratuwa, was rented for two years from the personal money of Susiri and Tineke. |
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Opening of the Dr. Reijntjes School for the Deaf
On February 2nd 1984, the Dr. Reijntjes School for the Deaf was opened.
There were 2 teachers, one house mother and 6 children that first day.
Tineke arranged with Mr. Cooray that these 3 staff members got trained for 3 months at the Ratmalana Deaf School before the opening of the Dr. Reijntjes School for the Deaf. |
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| The rented building at 68, Rawatawatta Road, was during the monsoon period in November 1984 in a bad state. The roof was leaking after every shower and all the furniture and beds got wet. When Tineke contacted the owner, he seemed not interested in repairing the building. |
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| Therefore the Sarvodaya Pre School Teachers Training Hostel, at no 22, Rawatawatta Road Moratuwa, with upstair bed rooms was given temporally in January 1985 to be used for the deaf children and staff members. Everybody was very happy with this solution. |
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| There was not a real kitchen, but we could manage for a short period. |
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| In August 1985, the 2 storied building next door to Susiri and Tineke’s bungalow was for sale. That was a very positive development. Tineke contacted the Dr. Reijntjes Foundation in the Netherlands and they told that if the Lanka Jathika Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya could buy this house with a Bank Loan, the Foundation could pay it back in installments. So it happened like that. |
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| Soon Tineke was sending a proposal for the renovation of this building to the Dutch Ambassador, H.E. Mr. Daman Willems in Colombo. She got a grant to renovate this house so that it could be used for teaching purpose and a hostel was created for the 16 deaf children and the staff members. |
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Opening of the new 2-storied building at 14/2, Andiris de Silva Mawatha, Moratuwa
On September 1st 1985, 16 deaf children and 4 staff members moved in to the new building. |
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| Tineke’s bungalow was next door and was used for the speech therapy lessons, given by Tineke herself. The Audiometer, donated by Dr. Reijntjes, was also in Tineke’s bungalow, as there was not enough space in the building to test the children. |
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| The official opening was on September 21st 1985, after the renovation of the house was completed. The chief guest was the acting Ambassador H.E. Mr. Cornelis de Groot from the Netherlands. |
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| One Acre of Land for Sale |
| A few months later one acre piece of land was for sale, adjoining the renovated building. Tineke discussed with the members of the Lanka Jathika Sarvodaya Sangamaya if they could purchase this piece of land with a bank loan as it was an ideal place to build the new school building. Sarvodaya reacted positively. |
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After that Tineke de Silva was sending more than 50 letters to Charity Organisations in the Netherlands to ask for financial assistance to build a new Deaf School Building with Hostel. (Cont...)
Two leading Dutch Organisations reacted positively. Dr. Reijntjes came with the Chairman of the Dr. Reijntjes Foundation in the Netherlands, Ms. Barbel Kattenbelt to Sri Lanka to lay the Foundation Stone on 20-07-1986. |
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| Moratuwa University Students made the design for the new School Building |
| A group of students of the Moratuwa University, under guidance of Prof. de Alwis, made several designs for the new school building. |
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| Two years later the beautiful building was completed and opened by Dr.Reijntjes and Dr. Sjef Teunis of the NOVIB Netherlands. There were 60 deaf pupils in the School. |
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| Opening of the New Wing |
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In 1993 there was a long waiting list. A new Wing with 4 class rooms, Hostel and Auditorium had to be constructed. This time the financial assistance came from friends of Tineke in the Netherlands and some small Organizations. In 1995 the new wing was opened by Dr.Reijntjes from the Netherlands and the Dutch Ambassador in Sri Lanka, Mr. Bastiaan Korner.
Now there was space for 100 deaf pupils. |
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| Guest House and Hostel for deaf working boys. |
| In 1998 a new building was constructed in the land next to the Deaf School, to use as the new guest house and a hostel for the deaf working boys. It was sponsored by the Wild Geese from the Netherlands. |
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| A new Hostel for deaf working girls |
| In 2000 the Girls Hostel, a building outside the gate but close to the school compound, was donated by two Dutch Friends of Tineke and the Liliane Foundation. |
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| Assistance to deaf Tamil and Muslim children in the North and East of Sri Lanka. |
| A request came in 1997 from remote North and East areas if we could help the deaf children there, as they just were at home without education. |
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| Together with the Survivors, a NGO working in the refugee camps in the North and East, we started small units for deaf children in Mannar, Pesalai, Potuvil and Kalmunai. |
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The Tamil teachers were trained in the Dr. Reijntjes School for the Deaf in Moratuwa.
Later we also got a request to start a Deaf School in Batticaloa.
Tineke arranged financial support from the Dutch Embassy and other Dutch Organizations for all these small Deaf Units in the North and East. |
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| The sign language in Sinhala, Tamil and English is the same but the languages are different. In the beginning these Units needed a lot of guidance and Tineke and her staff members had to travel a lot to these “war areas” what was very dangerous that time. |
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| We are very happy that all these units work well and independently now. |
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| A new Building for a Computer Centre and Library. |
| With financial aid from the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Colombo, a new Building with a Computer Centre, Library and Speech Therapy Unit was completed in 2005 in the School Compound. |
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The deaf pupils got already in a small scale computer classes from 1990.
In the new Computer Centre we got modern equipment like a network system, facilities for using internet and sending e-mails by the deaf students. |
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| A new communication project started with the help of members of the Rotary Club in Batteramulla. |
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| New Training Centre. |
| A new Training Centre for the deaf pupils was opened on 24th of July 2008, donated by a Dutch Lions Club and other Dutch Groups. |
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The children get training classes in:
Sewing, embroidery, drawing, painting, making of necklaces, cookery, hairstyling & beauty classes and agriculture. |
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| Plans for 2009 |
Most of the deaf pupils have a job in a garment factory after a training course.
Last year 500 garment factories closed down in Sri Lanka as a result of the recession in different export countries. Many of our deaf past pupils are affected and don’t have a job now. Therefore we like to start a new Agricultural Training Programme. We look for an Estate to educate the youth in growing vegetables, spices and fruits. After the course we try to get them a small plot of land from the Government close to their house in the village, to start a small business with their family members. |
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| Some other Events |
| In 1996 Tineke was knighted by the Dutch Queen Beatrix (Orde van Oranje Nassau) for her work for the Deaf Children in Sri Lanka. |
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| The total Running Cost for the Dr. Reijntjes School for the Deaf for the last 25 year is paid from the donations of organizations, individuals and groups from the Netherlands through the Dr. Reijntjes Support Foundation in the Netherlands. |
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| Tineke de Silva, the Founder/Principal of the Dr. Reijntjes School for the Deaf, never accepted a salary; she was a Principal Volunteer for the last 25 years. |
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| In February 2009, the Silver Jubilee of the Dr. Reijntjes School for the Deaf was celebrated with a lot of Dutch and Sri Lankan guests. The Chief Guest was the Dutch Ambassador in Sri Lanka H.E. Mrs. Leoni Cuelenaere. |
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| The New Trust |
| On February 13th 2009, a new Trust was established under the name: Dr. Reijntjes School for the Deaf Trust. The aim is to guaranty the independence and the continuity of the School in serving the poor deaf. The Trust is an extension of the Dr. Reijntjes School for the Deaf Foundation in the Netherlands. Two members of the new Trust are from the Dutch Foundation and the other members are from Sri Lanka with much experience in various professions, namely a chartered accountant, a lawyer, business executives, national security adviser and an insurance expert. As our Trust Members are well versed with the rules and regulations in Sri Lanka, substantial change can be expected in the future development activities of the Deaf School. Although the administration and accounting work of the Dr. Reijntjes School for the Deaf in Sri Lanka was performed for 25 years by Sarvodaya Suwa Setha on payment of a professional fee, the School from the beginning was operating independently, with the financial support of the Dr. Reijntjes Foundation and other Dutch and foreign Organizations and individuals. |
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