Our Story
Our Story
SignHealth UK (SHUK) was established in 1986 with a focus on deafness and mental health, offering a range of services to deaf people facilitating the access of deaf people to health and wellbeing delivery services. In the mid-2000s, after some research and discussion, SHUK decided to establish an international arm, SignHealth International, building on existing contacts and expertise.
Present DeafReach trustees were involved at this point. Anne Ryan as Treasurer and Rod Clark as Chairman of SignHealth UK, voted to consider taking on programmes in Africa, as at this time the World Conference in Mental Health and Deafness was being held in Worcester, South Africa.
This led to the establishment of the Africa Contact Group for Mental Health and Deafness, made up of a deaf representative and a professional representative from each African Region. Many of these attended the European Conference in the Netherlands the following year where the possibility of partnerships was discussed.
In 2009, an office in Kampala was established in Sense International Uganda's Office and Paul Ssenteza was appointed as a Development Manager for SignHealth Uganda, with support from by Signal and Sign Health (UK), both charities for persons with sensory impairments. The organisation was formally launched with its first International Meeting in September 2009 by the President of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), Markku Jovien, with presence of Government leaders, DPOS, NGOs and Other Development Partners.
A Steering Committee was formed in 2009 which transformed into an elected Board of Trustees a year later. In 2010, the first Strategic Plan was agreed, with the initial brief for SignHealth Uganda to promote equitable access to social services and opportunities for Deaf, other persons with disabilities and their families in Uganda. From 2010 to 2013, this initial Strategic Plan was outworked through two key Programmes. The first Programme focussed upon children, through a process of Early Childhood Development (ECD) and working with Peer Support Groups. The second Programme focussed upon a mixture of Including Education and Health interventions.
In order to implement these Programmes, an Outreach Programme was launched in 2010, targeting the three geographical regions of Greater Masaka, Kampala and West Nile. 2012 also saw the launch of National Association of Parents Support Groups (NAPADEC) to support the focus upon children from the first programme.
Throughout the years 2012-2013, SignHealth Uganda researched and explored Mental Health in relation to deafness, and out of that came the re-defining in 2014 of its approach to deafness, to include all aspects of hearing impairment and inclusive education.
Throughout the years 2012-2013, SignHealth Uganda researched and explored Mental Health in relation to deafness, and out of that came the re-defining in 2014 of its approach to deafness, to include all aspects of hearing impairment and inclusive education.
By 2016, SignHealth Uganda had grown to a Team of sixteen experts in their field, ably assisted by a team of 76 volunteers. Key Funding Partners in the last 5 years have included DeafReach, Deaf Child World Wide (DCW), Comic Relief, UKAID, True Colours Trust, IDEO and PEPFAR, with all projects implemented in collaboration with Local Government, Peer Support Groups, CSOs and other service providers.
Our Values
- Inclusive Communities
- Accountability and transparency
- Equality and non-discrimination
- Partnership and collaboration
- Reasonable accommodation
- Respect for human dignity and diversity
- Innovation and learning
- Professionalism
- Teamwork