I mentioned in my “Moving to BA” post that I had several projects in the works but that I couldn’t really talk about them yet. Some are still in progress, but I wanted to share one of them because I am so happy to work with such a great organization. I am working freelance/independently for the first time in my life, and it is both scary and nice. It is scary because I have to sell myself, get clients, and prove my expertise outside of an established organization, and because I have to manage my time to give the best I can give to the different entities I am working with. But it is also nice, for instance, the flexibility and the way I can structure my own day. I love being able to exercise in the middle of the day, or go to a museum mid-week, or work all day Sunday to free up a Monday for other things. Oh, and working mainly from home means I can cook most of my own meals – I love that! I do have quite a few meetings downtown but usually not all day.

However, maybe the best thing about working freelance is that I have been able to join one of my favorite NGOs in a professional capacity as a part-time project supervisor. I have known the organization since about 2010 and always been very impressed with the way they work, their clear focus, the excellent products they create and their professionalism. CANALES Asociación Civil works to improve the education of deaf children in Argentina. Here, as in many middle or low-income countries, many deaf children do not have access to quality education in their natural language, sign language. CANALES works to change the educational paradigm so that deaf children’s right to learn in their natural language is respected, using a bilingual educational model with Argentine Sign Language (LSA) and Spanish. CANALES also stands out because it is made up of deaf and hearing professionals working together, where the deaf adults serve as linguistic models and assure the correct use of LSA.

One of the organization’s most well known programs is the “Videolibros en Lengua de Señas Argentina“, which promote a love for reading through books read in LSA, with the original illustrations as the background and a voice in off so that the books can be enjoyed by all, deaf and hearing alike. The first collection included 15 children’s books by Argentinian authors, then four classics (such as Little Red Riding Hood) and there are currently another 12 being developed. Check out my favorite one, Tener un patito es útil. So cute!