Our May speaker, David Blakeway Smith, spoke under the intriguing title ‘An Unbelievable Dream Come True’. He was both inspiring and moving as he recounted the story of his wife, Sandy’s passion for the education of deaf children. They found themselves in the early 1960s amongst only 12 Europeans in Mandalay, Burma where David was teaching at the Diocesan School. Sandy had trained as a teacher of deaf children and was appalled that there was no such provision in Mandalay for them, so she started classes at her house with 2 children. She also trained Burmese ladies to be teachers, having learnt to sign in the Burmese language herself. The class moved into a basic outdoor classroom at the Diocesan School to accommodate the growing numbers which by 1964 had reached 27.

The political situation meant they were forced to leave in 1964 and were unable to learn what had happened to the class or teachers. Sadly, Sandy passed away in May 2013 and never knew what had happened to her dream. As David explained, a miracle then happened and he discovered that the school Sandy started was thriving despite the impact of the regime in the intervening 50 years and had moved in 1978 to a two-story building of its own. David and his family made a trip to visit in December last year and he was overwhelmed to be able to visit the school and meet several of his wife’s former pupils who had recently retired after successful careers. Truly ‘An Unbelievable Dream Come True’ and how much a difference one woman can make.

David is now continuing links with the school by raising awareness and collecting used hearing aids as he has seen the difference being able to hear makes to their lives. For more information on the School for the Deaf Mandalay visit their website: http://www.deafschoolmdy.com.

For more details regarding the activities and membership of the Club, please email on kidderminstersorop@gmail.com or look at our website link on www.sigbi.org