Deaf-SELF was founded in 2004 as Greenwich Deaf Play Scheme, at the direct request of local Deaf children. Many of these children were unable to access mainstream play and social activities during the school holidays because of their disability. Since the charity first established, we have helped hundreds of Deaf children to lead more informed, stimulating and socially active lives.
Designed by Deaf people for Deaf people, the play scheme has become a vital part of the Deaf community in South East London. Deaf-SELF pride ourselves on supporting parents and children alike and equipping them to overcome the disadvantages in education, due to the huge communication barriers that are faced every day.
The charity has now expanded into supporting children from various different boroughs in South East London. Since we were no longer solely Greenwich based, we decided to change the name in 2009 to represent the charity aims and our mission. 2009 marked the start of “Deaf-SELF” standing for South East London Foundation.
Deaf-SELF is a charity in its own right, however we do work closely with Remark! Community, which was set up by the Deaf led company Remark! Ltd. Remark! Community kindly assisted us in the creation of our new website, and it is valuable that the two charities can work so closely, since we share such similar aims. We plan to continue having sponsored events where the staff and young members can be involved, so helping the charity to continue.