The Karen Women’s Organization’s Special Education Project works to positively impact the lives of children with special needs and advocate on their behalf to achieve basic rights. One way KWO’s SE Project is working towards this goal is through the creation of the Karen Sign Language (KSL). There are currently 7 volumes of KSL. Volumes 1 -5 were produced by World Education. World Education then handed over the SE project to KWO in 2007. KWO has now produced volumes 6 and 7 of KSL through a collaborative effort of KWO SE project staff, former deaf students, SE teachers and trainers. All the volumes that KWO has produced include NEW signs. These words never had a sign in KSL before, so they could not be used in communication. Thanks to the hard work of KWO’s SE team, communication in Karen for those who are deaf has improved and diversified.
KWO SE staff, in town and in camps, will continue to create new signs and produce KSL videos in the future. We hope that these videos will be a helpful resource for the community (deaf and non-deaf) and aid in positively impacting the lives of the members of the Karen community who are deaf.