This file dealt with the establishment of the Singapore Association for the Deaf and Dumb (SADD) in August 1955. It covered the informal discussions among representatives of the Singapore Branch of the British Red Cross Society (SBBRCS), the Rotary Club, the Dept of Education and Social Welfare Department prior to its set up. A notice of its inaugural meeting stated that the deaf and the dumb had remained the only group of handicapped who had no society responsible for its welfare although there were classes for them namely the Singapore Chinese School for the Deaf (SCSD) and SBBRCS’ Classes for the Deaf and Dumb, which used the Sign and Oral methods respectively. The main aim of SADD was to deal with all aspects of the welfare of the deaf and dumb.
The file documented the drafting of the Association’s Constitution and Rules, and the election of its office bearers and Committee members. It contained the minutes of its inaugural meeting chaired by the Minister of Labour and Welfare, and all the subsequent monthly meetings of the Executive Committee from 1955 to 1956.
The minutes of the Executive Committee meetings and other file enclosures dealt with, inter alia, membership recruitment, register of the deaf and dumb, training of teachers, the SCSD ’s request for support, site for a new school building, a proposal to classify the types of deafness, statistics on deaf persons in Singapore, views towards the Oral and Sign methods, and requests for help for individual cases. The file recorded that the SADD established its office at the Guides Association’s HQ at Buyong Road in July 1956 and took over from the SBBRCS the administration of its Classes for the Deaf in April 1956.
The file recorded that the government granted the site at Mountbatten Road for a new school building. This was to be built with funding from the Rotary Club, together with an offer from the Apex Club to draw up the plans and supervise its construction. In November 1956, DSW made a submission to PS, Labour and Welfare proposing a block grant to be made to the SADD, to be given equally between the Oral and Sign schools.
The continuous support of the Education Dept through providing teachers was recorded in the notes of one of SADD’s meetings. The interest of the Canossa Order in the Deaf was recorded in the file. It noted that Canossa Convent had admitted 6 girls as boarders and was teaching 10 girls by Oral method.
Jul 1955 - Nov 1956
BU 1228
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