Expanding Educational Opportunities in Asia

Perkins collaborates with more than 50 schools and education centers to provide preschool, primary and secondary educational services to children. Each year, more than 3,700 children are reached through these programs, where they learn to explore the world and realize their greatest potential. 

Early Childhood Education

The earlier a child with visual or hearing impairments is identified, the earlier they are able to receive support in developing early education skills. Early identification is particularly important in Asia because this group is significantly underserved. Many of the programs Perkins supports were the first of their kind to provide education services to these children. For example:

A young boy shares his biggest smile, Vidya Sagar, India

• Perkins' collaboration with the Amity Foundation, a Chinese voluntary organization, has established the country's first home-based early intervention program. Each year, at least 60 young children and their families receive services.  
• In India, home to the world's largest population of children who are blind, Perkins' partners have initiated multiple outreach and early childhood education programs. Partners include the Blind People's Association, Helen Keller Institute of the Deaf and Deafblind in Mumbai and the Spastic Society of Tamil Nadu. 

Several of Perkins' partners have outreach programs in rural areas, because families are often unable to travel to urban centers to receive services. In the Philippines, we work with Resources for the Blind and Parent Advocates for Visually Impaired Children to provide therapy and educational services to children and families. 

Perkins and our partners have built partnerships with local schools and centers to extend their programs' reach. In Indonesia, Perkins supports early intervention and preschool training programs with Helen Keller International. Through this collaboration, teachers from Rawinala and SLB-A, a government school for the blind with numerous satellite programs, provide services to young children and their families throughout the Jakarta metropolitan area. 

School Age Children

In collaboration with local groups, Perkins develops education programs for children with multiple disabilities. Countries where programs have been developed include Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.  Educational programs for children often begin as model programs, where teachers complete assessments and develop individual educational plans. In 2000, there was only one program serving children with visual impairment and multiple disabilities in China and three formally trained educators. Today, there are 20 programs for preschoolers with visual impairment and school-aged children with multiple disabilities in 11 major cities throughout the country.  Each year, these programs provide educational opportunities to at least 325 children. 

A deafblind student makes a necklace from flowers, India

• In the Philippines, Perkins partners with local groups to increase the number of teachers trained to work with children with multiple disabilities. Perkins anticipates providing educational opportunities to more than 3,000 children as a result of the project. This project will further provide the Philippines with the long-term benefit of having developed their own local trainers and resources. 
• Perkins supports more than 20 schools in India. Perkins' affiliated programs in India reach nearly 1,300 children each year. 
• Perkins supports several schools and model programs in Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. 

Several of Perkins' programs offer training to adolescents with multiple impairments. In Thailand, Perkins supports three community group homes that enable participants to develop skills necessary to live more independently, obtain meaningful jobs and participate in home life and community activities. In India, we work with the Holy Cross Service Society on a transitional residential program for children with mutliple disabilities from rural communities who have not had any prior access to educational services.

Download a brochure to learn more about our work in China (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).

Learn more about our other programs in Asia