Our Educational Center

View at the playroom
in the Education center

The Educational center of the Ethiopian National Association of the Deafblind opened in summer 2011. 

It is located in the compound of the headquarters of the ENADB (add a hyperlink to contact details or a map) in Addis Ababa.

It functions as a daycare center where parents can bring their deafblind children and leave them there with trained staff to spent the day. The Educational center is open on weekdays from early morning until late afternoon. In its focus are children older than three years. Nevertheless, smaller children are also welcome to spent the day together with their parent; through the day, the parents are taught how to take care of the child with regard to his/her unique needs and condition.

There are three trained assistants in the Educational center - Ms Emmnet Ayele, Mr Moges Kebede and Ms Zenebu Asires. They take care of the children, feed them, play with them and watch after them. The children get professional help - they learn basic toilet habits, eat, stand and walk with support. The Educational center is managed by Mr Dagmawi Melesse, the Head of the center.

Currently, six children, aged between 2-6, attend the Education Center. They are all coming from Addis.

"Tactile" cupboards
in the Educational center

The objectives of the Educational center are not only to free deafblind children from the ropes tying them to beds and tables, but to empower them, in a step by step manner, for an independent life in their future; to give them opportunity to experience the world and to play and move outside the house without facing a danger and with an appropriate care, to assist them in improving their communication skills which would allow them to better express their wishes and thinking, and assist them in mastering alternative means of communication, and to assist them in acquiring necessary skills to learn.

The project of the Educational Center has been sponsored by the Threshold Association.

For further information about the Educational center, please contact the  ENADB or Mr Dagmawi Melesse, the Head of the Educational center (tel: +251-11-55-78-97).

Playroom in the Education center