US Ambassador Cameron P Munter hosted a sports day at the residence of US Consul General William Martin for 60 hearing-impaired Pakistani students from the Deaf Reach School in Karachi. Munter, Martin, several American staff members of the consulate and the students participated together in various activities including cricket, basketball and football, as well as arts and crafts including face-painting. The Deaf Reach School was established in Pakistan in 1998 by Richard and Heidi Geary, directors of Family Educational Research Services. Deaf Reach Schools support more than 800 hearing impaired students from low-income backgrounds in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, and Lahore.
“I am inspired by these children and the work of the Deaf Reach School, which is helping to create opportunities for so many young Pakistanis. Projects such as this one can also lay the foundation for future people-to-people relationships between Americans and Pakistanis,” Munter said on the occasion.
The Deaf Reach School provides transportation and meal services to its students, in addition to providing them with a specialised education, computer skills courses, and art activities. Approximately 9 million people in Pakistan suffer from some form of hearing loss, including 1.5 million profoundly deaf children of school age.
