The Outreach Program

Was born to answer the needs of the Deaf community. It was initially used to form projects such as special religious education (SPRED), the early resource centers (now Welcome Home School), income-generating projects (IGP), and a residence for those who live far from the school.

Today outreach teachers are registered interpreters of the Philippine Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (PRID), catechists, and licensed teachers. The outreach project offers educational sponsorships to Deaf students who may not be able to afford formal schooling.  Finally, Welcome Home offers sign language courses to professionals (lawyers, educators, health professionals, etc.) so they can better understand, and meet the needs of, their deaf clients.

For the current year, outreach centers have reached the areas of:

• Kabankalan City, for 40 deaf children

• Pontevedra, for SPRED Mass

• Escalante City, a residential school for the deaf under Fr. Harry Bloom, O. Carm

• Malaybalay City

In the past, outreach centers were located in:

• Iloilo, for SPRED and PRID

• Talisay, for Village for the Deaf, SPRED and IGP

• Capiz, a residence run by Fr. Romel Talabucan, under the care of Bishop Oniel

• Bohol, for SPRED

• Camiguin, for college support and SPRED

• Cagayan de Oro, for SPRED run by the Columbans and volunteers

• Pagadian, for SPRED and a school

• Ozamis, for SPRED

• Silay City, for SPRED

• Zamboanga, for SPRED and a school

• Davao, for SPRED and a residence

• Tawi-Tawi, for SPRED

• Dumaguete, for SPRED and PRID

Filipino Sign Language Advocacy

With the national mandate, and a growing sense of nationalistic pride in the deaf community, WHFI is leading in the dissemination of Filipino Sign Language (FSL) education.  Welcome Home aims to produce an accurate and accessible visual dictionary of FSL.  Additionally, individual words have been compiled into studying lists, which mirror the curriculum developed and tested by PRID.  Explore the dictionary, search for words, or start a lesson; whichever you pick, just have fun! 

As SPRED enters the information age, Welcome Home is pioneering the use of modern technology with visual storytelling methods that are natural to many deaf communities. WHFI is developing the most-thorough collection of FSL videos on Biblical scripture, catechism, moral theology, and ethical issues. This, coupled with our FSL dictionary, allows the youth to be engaged with WHFI’s ministry anytime. This is what we term the 'FSL Fellowship.'

Malaybalay Outreach Center

This center is dedicated to the education and ministry of deaf families in central Mindanao, an oft-underserved area of the country. Summer sign language courses are given to parents of deaf children, as well as professionals who work with the hearing-impaired.

whfi-village for the deaf (wh-farm)

Welcome Home Foundation, Inc. received a parcel of land where we initially built homes and a day care center through the help of Gawad Kalinga (GK) and Couples for Christ (CFC).  Devastated by recent typhoons we plan to rehabilitate the area and transform it to a community center that will serve the Deaf and the coastal village surrounding it. 

Thanks to the Australian Embassy’s Direct Aid program we will focus on rebuilding the garden whilst drawing people in from the surrounding barangay. WHFI envisions that this center will become a deaf run community that could potentially serve as the heart of the area, and the deaf can live harmoniously with the hearing community.  We want it to flourish with the bayanihan spirit.  In essence the center will be a location for continuing education and ground for spiritual renewal for all.  We hope that it will be an oasis where the deaf feel a great deal of pride and ownership and the hearing community drawing inspiration from them to improve their own lives.  This will be the place where the Deaf will live and thrive.

SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM

Acting as an administrator for many local and international grants, Welcome Home responsibly sponsors deaf children to live healthy lives, engage in formal schooling, participate in values formation, and learn employable skills.  

ANNUAL REPORTS

The Welcome Home Foundation, Inc. annual report is published annually. Contact us directly for the past years' reports.

Applied Research

In partnership with the US Peace Corps, Welcome Home is studying the social phenomenon of deaf parents with hearing children in the Philippines. Education to help these specific parents is virtually nonexistent, and WHFI has lead the way by collecting the experiences of these families in a systematic, standardized way in easy-to-read manuals, and holding seminars to help these parents have greater communication and more fulfilling relationships with their children.