What is Martha EDU?

Martha EDU is a social enterprise interested in the innovation and development of educational tools for people with hearing disabilities. Martha’s products are the result of continuous research and study of the best educational methodologies in Arabic-Jordanian Sign Language. Our educational products are supported with Arabic, English, and an interactive application that displays visuals and videos with child-friendly cartoon characters in collaboration with talented children who are proficient in Jordanian-Arabic Sign Language.

Our Values

Clarify a problem

Most people who identify with a hearing disability or being d/Deaf face challenges that begin in early childhood. With 90% born to hearing parents, the majority of d/Deaf individuals develop without access to a common language with others, and lack literacy skills in sign language.

In the developing world, children are confronted with the additional impacts of armed conflicts, poverty, and short-sighted policies. These dynamics can be barriers to accessing medical, legal, social, economic, and educational assistance, building meaningful relationships and creating hope-filled futures.

Our solutions

At Martha EDU, we strive to eradicate the barriers to literacy from the lives of d/Deaf individuals from childhood, using interactive flashcards and mobile app technologies.

We aspire to reach every home with our products. By leveraging our state-of-the-art flashcards equipped with QR codes and augmented reality features, d/Deaf individuals and their families can benefit from a fully-immersive learning experience.

Using a multi-level structure, we also gradually add English and Arabic words to the vocabulary and imagination of children and their families. Moreover, given the nature of our solutions, we are able to scale and localize our products to a wide range of contexts and cultures.

of d/Deaf people lack education or are undereducated, are illiterate or semi-literate.1

of d/Deaf children are born to hearing parents with little or no experience dealing with d/Deaf people. 2

References:

1. World Federation of the Deaf. 2003. “Position Paper regarding the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.” Ad Hoc Committee on an International Convention, Fourth Session. 24 June, 2003. [URL]

2. Mitchell, Ross and Michael Karchmer. 2004. “Chasing the Mythical Ten Percent: Parental Hearing Status of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in the United States.” Sign Language Studies 4(2): 138-163. [PDF]

Why Martha EDU?

Martha EDU’s sign language flashcard system is unique because it is–

Easy, user-friendly, and engaging
Presented in Jordanian Arabic Sign Language, complemented by written Arabic and English
A form of home-based learning
Affordable at an estimated cost of US $40, and based on human-centered design through thorough collaboration with community members, professionals, and nonprofit organizations
Fully functional without the support of professionals
Supported and endorsed by leading civil society organizations such as the International Refugee Commission (IRC), Oxfam International, and the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation
Designed to give d/Deaf children and those with hearing disabilities in Jordan and the region opportunities to overcome financial, socioeconomic, and cultural barriers and increase societal integration

Downloads

App available on Google Play and App Store.

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Expert opinions

The emergence of tech and innovation unleash unlimited power to provide access to education to the most vulnerable communities in the world. Martha Edu is making a great example by harnessing the power of augmented reality to spearhead innovative education of sign language for deaf children in Jordan and the Middle East.
Omar Al-Qadhi
Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Manager, International Rescue Committee
When we talk about the right to education, our view must be just, covering all segments of society, especially people with disabilities, who often face great challenges. The first right of the disabled person is to be able to communicate easily with those around him, which is exactly what Martha EDU provides to deaf people to help them integrate into society and to equip them with what they need, just like their peers. Society also needs to learn sign language in order to be able to communicate with this group with ease. That is why we are proud of Martha's work.
Valentina Kassisieh
CEO, Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation
This is a great way for hearing parents of deaf children to learn to communicate with their children from the comfort of their own homes! The videos are especially useful for learning a 3D language.
Timothy Loh
PhD candidate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Deaf people need to have faith in themselves and in their own abilities and capacities, as well as to feel that they are able to live out their lives without any limitations. For that reason, I am pleased that our foundation has had the unique opportunity to support and protect the linguistic identity and cultural diversity of all deaf and signing people by supporting the development of Martha EDU’s mobile app.
Hamza Abdo
Senior Grant and Innovation Specialist, Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation

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