With just about a year from its launch, USAID’s Improving Deaf Children’s Reading through Technology program (IDCRT) is already making a great impact on both teachers and students through its newly-designed literacy software. To catalyze on this positive momentum, the program formed a Steering Committee composed of partner associations representatives  to raise awareness for special education needs for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children. This Steering Committee is bringing together all associations working with deaf children across Morocco to spread the word about challenges in deaf education and advocate for DHH children’s rights. As part of this grassroots initiative, the Steering Committee has presented a petition calling for the Moroccan government to establish mechanisms for implementing policies that support more inclusive education. The IDCRT Steering Committee is a living example of how local initiatives can work towards building nationwide, collective engagement and advocacy to enhance access and quality of education for all students.

USAID’s IDCRT Program (Improving Deaf Children’s Reading through Technology) works to promote sign language education and expand educational opportunities to deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children in grades 1 and 2, by developing a software to improve students’ literacy skills using both Moroccan Sign Language (MSL) and Arabic.