Doctors, nurses and health professionals

Professor Ana Mineiro
M.D. Patrícia Carmo
Professor Alexandre Castro-Caldas

Professor Emília Santos
M.D. Joana Castelo Branco
M.D. Ricardo Oliveira

The Sign Language missions were the first step in the development of the Without Barriers project that aimed to combat the isolation faced by the deaf community in Sao Tome and Principe.

It is noteworthy the development of the Sao Tomean Official Sign Language and the publication of the First Official Dictionary of the Sao Tomean Sign Language, comprising 288 gestures.

Without Barriers was crucial in promoting deaf-sensitive education policies, as prior to the project deaf children were excluded from the formal education system due to lack of awareness and knowledge on how to provide inclusive school curriculum. Today there is a pilot-class of deaf children.

This project was born out of a partnership with the Portuguese Catholic University and cofinanced by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.