deafPLUS's Leo and Jason are teachers for the day!

Early Tuesday morning of 7 October, we were taken by our trusty deaf guide in Tom in his car, adorned with Liverpool football club memorabilia, to a high school for the deaf, outside Kota Kinabalu, we were greeted by Regina Wong at the gates with the school's principal.  What a welcome we received!

There were kids in their smart school uniforms that were always smiling and fixated with our presence as we entered each classroom, forever gazing at our every movement, we decided to make a fun morning out of it and to keep them entertained as they rarely receive foreign guests. We recognised some of the children that saw our presentation yesterday at the Sabah Society for the Deaf, we acknowledged each other and watched as the teachers taught the lessons in BM (Borneo-Malaysian) Sign Language.

The school was not just a deaf school, it was a mainstream school with a Partially Hearing Unit and all of the children were profoundly deaf using BMSL. The school seemed to be in need of donations for renovation work but they did not lack the resources education-wise.

As we watched a teacher giving an English lesson, we observed the work of the children by reading their exercise books and we were taken aback how neat their hand-writing were. In all honesty, it was marvellous. We were also told that in the past, they were taught every lesson in English and until recently on government's orders that they must be taught in the Borneo-Malaysian language and the principal admitted that it was easier and better for the children to revert back to the old ways.

Jason decided to join the class by pulling up a small chair and sat between the children who couldn't stop giggling, even the teacher & the principal were amused, as the teacher was explaining the grammatical sense of their language, Jason stuck up one arm vying for attention and the lesson was temporarily paused as he attempted to speak what was on the blackboard, their native language and boy, did he pronounce the words very well much to the teacher's delight. After a while, as the lesson flew by, Jason, once again raised his arm and said, jokingly, "Miss, may I go now?" much to the stifled laughter of the adults in the background.  Jason was then challenged by the principal to give the pupils a lesson.

So from being a pupil to teacher, Jason decided to give them a geography lesson, being very bad at art, he managed to outline the map of Europe onto a whiteboard and challenged the children to place where the countries are and the names of its capital cities. They were really intelligent.

We then left to go to the kindergarten school, the Sabah Society for the Deaf, where we gave the presentation the previous day and there were only a class with approximately up to 10 pupils and mainly with additional & learning disabilities, we visited almost every room and they were adequately resourced by way of equipment such as books and other learning aids provided by Gallaudet University.

It was Leo's turn to become the teacher this time with the aid of their teacher and they both taught the children the signs of A-Z in alphabetical order in both the BM & BSL. They also were interested in our names and created new sign names for us which was hilarious!  Also we showed where England is on their map and explained how we travelled on 3 different planes in order to get here much to their delight.

Then Regina, acting as our interpreter took us and Tom to the Elementary School for the Deaf some distance away. Once they saw us, they eagerly surrounded us to talk about England and of course, for the boys, football!!!

We were encouraged to give lessons and we enjoyed it tremendously. What a great day!

Day 1 in Kota Kinabalu: Rest Day and a visit to the Sabah Society for the Deaf.

Leo and I woke early this morning to meet our deaf guide on Tom at 7.30am to a place in Kota Kinabalu where we could book excursions to certain sights available. We chose to visit the two islands, Manukan & Sapi.

The island of Manukan was bombed by the Japanese during the Second World War.  Over the years, it has since returned to its own natural beauty. I would recommend that you visit this untouched piece of nature.

Manukan and Sapi are famous for three things:

• Storms--we saw the storm hitting Kota Kinabalu from the island of Sapi and we were not collected until two hours after our designated collection time.
• Bumpy boat rides: you will get wet.
• Beautiful beaches with white sand and palm trees.

In Manukan, we were openly welcomed by the locals. Today was rest day, so we snorkelled in the clear blue sea. We saw fish and several crabs climbing up the pier.

Later in the day, we went to give a presentation about our wide range of deafPLUS services to the Sabah Society for the Deaf.

The audience at the Sabah Society for the Deaf was made up mostly of young people who were keen to learn about our work at deafPLUS.

We shared our knowledge of employment advisory services and steps to finding employment, finishing with a Question and Answer session, which was very productive.

Tomorrow, we will be visiting three deaf schools across Borneo. We are eager to see how they are run and what sort of issues they face in today's economic climate.

deafPLUS staff arrive safe and well in Kota Kinbalu

Our staff, Leo Mansell and Jason Barnett touched down in Kota Kinbalu, (Borneo, Malaysia) with their climbing team from Advocate Events.

We went on a big plane as we have own tv each - movies and games. Yes no subtitles for us as nothing new. We have international movies so we can watch subtitles but quite poor movies. Also each seat have USB plug so we can charge our phones on the journey!

Our first stop was at Dubai and we all had to get out of plane to check in then get back on the same plane! Waste of time! But at least I have been to Dubai! I could not sleep well from London to Dubai.

Then to Bruni, I managed to sleep a few hours. Bruni airport is quite under par for me as I expected more than that as the country is one of richest in the world. Very humid.

We went on smaller plane to Borneo. Only under one hour journey..... Arrived in good time and went to the hotel by taxi. Very humid and raining! Gaya Hotel is nice and better than I thought, opposite of the hotel is shopping centre and sea, Could not see the sea as it is dark.

Will go to the islands tomorrow then have dinner with deaf society at 630pm.

One thing which surprised me ...... Borneo have same plugs as us! No need to bring travel adapter! 

Team morale and spirits are high: everyone is raring to go.

 

The itinerary is as follows:

Saturday 4th October 2014 (Day 1): Fly from London to Kuala Lumpur and then on to Kota Kinabalu (Borneo, Malaysia)

 

Sunday 5th October 2014 (Day 2): Arrive at Kota Kinabalu airport; transfer to the Gaya Centre Hotel. Enjoy the rest of the evening at your own leisure to sightsee, sleep or relax.

Monday 6th October 2014 (Day 3): Rest / leisure day in Kota Kinabalu.

Tuesday 7th October 2014 (Day 4): Rest / leisure day in Kota Kinabalu.

Wednesday 8th October (Day 5): 6.30am Gaya Centre Hotel pick up, Drive two hours to Kinabalu Park.

9:00am your guide will arrange for all necessary registrations, assign you a mountain guide. Youll then be transferred to starting point – Timpohon Gate – where your journey and quest to the summit of Borneos highest mountain begins! The climb will take approximately 4-5 hours. Arrive and check into Laban Rata resthouse.

Thursday 9th 2014 (Day 6): Rise at 2am in order to trek the tough final 2- 4 hours to the summit, where, weather permitting you will see the sunrise to end all sunrises! Photos and celebration before climbing back to base camp to pick up your belongings. At 7am head back down to the foot of the mountain.

Late afternoon we will head back to the Gaya Centre Hotel in Kota Kinabalu for some much needed rest.

Friday 10th October 2014 (Day 7): Rest / leisure day in Kota Kinabalu.

Saturday 11th October 2014 (Day 8): Fly home to London.

Leo and Jason's Borneo Challenge: Just Two Days To Go!!

deafPLUS bids farewell to its esteemed staff, Leo Mansell and Jason Barnett before they head off to Borneo in two days' time.

We caught up with them to hear their thoughts about the journey.

1. Leo, Jason--thank you for joining us. We cannot believe you are going to Borneo in two days' time. How are you feeling about it?

To be honest, I cannot describe how I am feeling at the moment--it is mixed feelings, really. I am having trouble coming to terms with the fact that we are going to Borneo...I think we are both finding it hard to accept that we will not see our families for a week. On the other hand, we are looking forward to the challenge.

2. Huge well done to both of you! How do you feel about achieving your sponsorship target?

It felt very good...I felt relaxed knowing I achieved the target in good time. I am grateful to my family, my friends and my work colleagues in deafPLUS and other organisations, for helping me achieve the target ahead of deadline. They have shown their kindness and I would like to pay it back by reaching the summit!

3. What have you been doing to prepare for the trip this week

Jason - I have taken out my jogging trainers and have run around the block in my area. I have also gained more stamina by losing a bit of weight as I was 13.5 stones and now I'm 12.75 stones! I have cut out on junk food and eating quite sensibly over the last few weeks.

Leo - I have also been wearing my walking boots to and from home and work. See, I wanted to break them in, so I don't get sore feet. This is something we'd like to avoid, as I think we will certainly be doing a lot of walking, I have no doubt about that.

4. What is going through your mind right now about going to Borneo?

I can't wait for my feet to be walking the streets of Borneo and sampling the culture as it's our first time in Asia.

I am psyching myself up, so I am mentally ready for the task. This is the biggest challenge, one of the milestones in my life...although marrying my wife tops the lot!

5. What do you plan to do on your rest days in Borneo?

Rest days? That's a new one...I don't think there will be any rest days for me and Jason. We are visiting the deaf society in Sabah, where I will give a talk about deafPLUS. We will also visit three schools for deaf children, which will certainly be very interesting. Our last day will probably be difficult because we...as old timers will probably be struggling to walk around after the climb!

We are joking actually! We will keep you updated on the blog with regular posts to tell you all about Borneo. It will be very, very interesting.

6. deafPLUS is very proud of you both! Good luck, fellas!

Thank you. :)

Nearly 2 weeks to go before deafPLUS' first overseas fundraising challenge!

deafPLUS is very excited - in just over 2 weeks to go, two of our colleagues will embark on a trip of a lifetime for a very good cause. Jason Barnett, Whitechapel Centre Manager and Leo Mansell, Hackney Development Officer, will fly to Borneo near Malaysia to climb Mt Kinabalu to raise money for deafPLUS.

They have both raised £3000 each, meeting their sponsorship targets. Their sponsorship money will ensure deafPLUS can continue to deliver its services to deaf people.

We have created a blog so you can follow Jason's and Leo's exciting journey and hear all about their visit to a deaf school in Borneo.

Jason Barnett after completing the British 10K London Run raising money towards his Borneo target 

Leo Mansell after completing the half-mile Great East Swim raising money towards his Borneo target

We decided to interview both gentlemen on their forthcoming challenge:

REPORTER: How are you both feeling about going to Borneo in nearly 2 weeks' time?

Jason: I am excited! It will be the furthest I have ever flown and it will be my first trip to South East Asia. I am looking forward to taking in their culture, visiting a school for deaf children in Borneo. I am especially interested in learning about how schools for the deaf in Borneo are run and how the children are taught. That will certainly be a good experience.

Leo: I am looking forward to it. In fact, I am very excited! As Jason has said, we are visiting a deaf school for deaf children. We are also visiting the Sabah Deaf Society, which is Borneo's answer to deafPLUS. We hope to learn about their employment service for deaf people, their values and the issues they face in Borneo. This will be one of the highlights of our trip and I cannot wait. I don't know how Jason will cope with me on the flight!

REPORTER: How have you both been preparing for this challenging trek?

Jason: Apart from running after my three children, I haven't done much training although I am a naturally sporty person! Over the last two months, I participated in a deaf veteran football tournament (and won!). I took part in the British 10K London Run and was exhausted afterwards!

Leo: I have been training "well"! I swim weekly and recently took part in the Great East Open Water swim in the half-mile category. I am also a Football Referee so I run up and down the football pitch most weekends.

REPORTER: Good luck boys and we shall look forward to reading your blog!