Government trains civil servants to provide services in sign language.
A course for 105 people begins on April 10th; in total, classes will be at a basic level with a workload of 60 class hours; 80 people are already on the waiting list for future classes.
Brasília Agency - Government employees in the Federal District will be trained to assist people with hearing impairments. The group, consisting of 105 people, will attend 60 hours of Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) classes, three times a week, at the Brasília Botanical Garden (JBB). “The acceptance of the course was even surprising. The demand was so great that we needed to open another class, and the places were filled quickly,” says Fabíola Lima, manager of Pedagogical Workshops at the JBB. Classes begin on the 10th and will be from 9 am to 12 pm and from 14 pm to 17 pm. Approximately 80 people were placed on the waiting list.
The course will be taught by the Brazilian Institute for Cultural, Educational and Professional Development of People with Disabilities (ICEP), a philanthropic civil society organization. “Our four environmental educators who serve the public will take the course. In total, 17 employees of the Botanical Garden will be trained to provide service in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language),” explains Fabíola Lima. The JBB has approximately 60 employees. “The course will be basic, but this way we will already be able to communicate much better,” adds the manager, who will also be in the classroom on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
Fabíola Lima said that, in addition to JBB's own staff, employees from the State Secretariat for the Environment and Water Resources (Semarh), the Brasília Environmental Institute (Ibram), and the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) will also attend the course. “We also have some professionals from the community who regularly work with people with hearing impairments. We have a flight attendant, tourist attendants, and teachers in the class,” she stated.