Tesfa supports both deaf, blind and disabled children and youth through their initiatives

During the last years, Tesfa has largely extended its activities to reach out to more kids with special needs and disabilities. The activities involve football training with deaf students, blind students and the disabled at St. Mary’s hospital.

Training for Deaf students

Tesfa gives special training for the deaf students in Asmara Deaf School and for youths in the Deaf organization, ERINAD. The trainings are held once a week during the full year, as the deaf students are voluntarily participating during the vacation in July and August despite they are off school. Three boys and two girls teams take part in the ordinary tournament, and breakfast is provided for all participants after each game.

The game schedule is as follows:
Deaf school: Training every Wednesday at 11:00-12:00 and games every Saturday
ERINAD: Training every Saturday at 07:00 at Finland Mission.

The first training at the Deaf school – October 2006

In October 2006 the students in the Evangelical School for the deaf Asmara had their first football training with Tesfa. With the support of Norges Handikapforbund, Tesfa will train the students regularly once a week going forward. Petros and Mussie were on the spot 20 minutes prior to kick-off and were met by excited children ready to play.

In 1989 the Evangelical School of the Deaf was established in Keren, and later it expanded to Asmara. The school includes grade 1-5 and thereafter the students are integrated into the regular school system. In total, there are about 20.000 deaf in Eritrea. This very high number is due to the war and a lack of proper medical treatment. Today, the circumstances for the deaf in Eritrea is very challenging and there are no other similar activities available for the deaf with the aim of making the integration process easier. After a couple of weeks of training the deaf children teams will become a part of the regular children tournament.

Goalball training for blind students

Tesfa is the first club that introduced goalball activities to Eritrea. Goalball is a three-a-side team game developed for visually impaired players, but individuals with full sight can also play with eye blinds. Every Friday 8 of the Tesfa players, who have taken a special course in goalball, are conducting training for around 25 blind students at their school Abrha Bahta blind school. Minasie Kashu is responsible for coordinating the activities.The blind students really find it interesting and fun to play goalball, and they have become very enthusiastic about the sport. All participants have received a track suit and a skin guard for their knees to make the conditions as good as possible for the kids. At the end of every game, bread and milk is served to all participants.

Volleyball Training for disabled youth and adults

Tesfa also provides volleyball training for disabled youth and adults. This activity is meant to entertain the patients at St.Mary hospital. The training takes place once a week and the patients are really enjoying and appreciating playing the game. There are around 50 to 60 on and off patients who are participating in the tournament. As with the other initiatives, patients are provided with milk and bread after each practice.