About Us

How did it all start?

On February 2nd 1984 the Dr. Reijntjes School for the Deaf started in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. A wish of Tineke de Silva-Nijkamp became reality. A dream who started growing from the moment she first visited Sri Lanka in 1974. As Tineke herself was working as a teacher at a Deaf School in the Netherlands for 12 years, she was very much interested how the deaf children in Sri Lanka were educated.

But she was shocked to see that these deaf children, special in the villages, were not taken serious and not going to school. Many people thought they were mentally retarded.

The Dr.Reijntjes School for the Deaf in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.

The Dr.Reijntjes School for the Deaf in Moratuwa started in 1984 with 8 deaf pupils under the care of Mrs. Tineke de Silva-Nijkamp from the Netherlands. After 3 months there were 16 deaf children. The School was growing so fast that new buildings were constructed with the help of Dutch Organizations. All the deaf pupils also needed boarding facilities, as they came from rural areas of Sri Lanka. After 10 years the number of deaf children was growing to 100.

At the Deaf School the deaf pupils get a normal school program like any other hearing child. Only the method of teaching is different. We use the National Sign Language of Sri Lanka. The extra lessons they get here are speech therapy, drama, yoga, dancing, expression & art classes. Through these lessons the deaf children learn to express themselves and get self confidence, to face the hearing society.

The Dr. Reijntjes School for the Deaf is depending on Donations to run this Deaf School. Most parents of the pupils are not educated and don’t see the importance of sending their deaf child to a deaf school. Therefore the Dr. Reijntjes Deaf School is totally free of charge and all the pupils get a free hearing aid of the School.

Mission

To dedicate ourselves to creating a space where the deaf and their families can learn to communicate with each other and overcome barriers through rehabilitation, education and sign language classes.

We strive, through an all round education and vocational training, to ensure better social and economic opportunities for the deaf, enabling them to become self-reliant and better integrated into the wider community and culture of Sri Lanka.

Vision

We aim to foster a society with more understanding, respect and acceptance of the Deaf and support the rights and duties that the deaf have by building their capacity to be self-sustaining and developing opportunities for a better future.