Dear OTG Supporters,
After an incredibly challenging year for many, we truly hope this letter finds you and your loved ones in good spirits and health.
We are pleased to share with you the accomplishments that our organization, Off-The-Grid Missions (OTG), has been able to make throughout 2022 as a result of your support advocating for our cause and generous contributions. Donations fund our operations to rescue Deaf families from high-risk regions; provide food relief, solar light and mobile charging technologies, reusable period pads, implementing clean water filtration systems, medical, communication access and more. Below is a summary of our year long efforts to alleviate the suffering of deaf and hard-of-hearing people in crisis.
Content Warning: the following events contain graphic material related to war and natural disasters***
OTG’s Largest Operation: War in Ukraine
“From the thunder of artillery to the roar of fighter jets and air-raid sirens warning of incoming Russian attacks, the sounds of war are almost inescapable in Ukraine. But for thousands of Ukrainians who are Deaf or Hard-of-hearing, those danger signals just don't exist. That's why a U.S-based nonprofit called Off-The-Grid Missions is now providing the Deaf Community with tools to stay safe and alert. The group also provides evacuations run exclusively by people who are deaf or hard of hearing.”
In Ukraine we executed a full-scale operation
leading the largest disaster-response mission for Deaf and Hard-of-hearing people which began when the Russians invaded Ukraine on February 24th, 2022. Here is a summary of the joints of this major operation:
Rescuing & Evacuating Deaf Families Out of Ukraine
For the first six months of the war when the borders were open to refugees, we focused heavily on evacuations by building a network of interconnected systems from both inside and outside of Ukraine. We funded evacuations remotely, as well as, deployed ground missions navigating through all regions of Ukraine to bring Deaf families safely across the border. Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe (second to Russia), so our team took days to journey through safe routes which included sheltering for a night at refugee shelters.
Our biggest challenge is communication. Deaf people get information last and in addition to being last to receive the help, they can easily be manipulated by anyone around them. So while it is indeed unusual that our team of Deaf drivers would be the ones rescuing Deaf families out of active war zones (as our team does not hear the shelling, gunfire, air raid warnings, etc.), it is actually the only promising way we could efficiently and effectively evacuate Deaf families; there is an immediate sense of trust that comes with being rescued by a Deaf/signing person which is in contrast to the fear associated to the risk of a non-Deaf person being a Russian guised as humanitarian to ship them off to the concentration camps.
Separately, we mentored, funded, and managed Deaf humanitarian-turned-civilians throughout the country and on the bordering countries so that they could secure Deaf refugees with communication access, food, water, and shelter.
Emergency Relief
A tribute to The Sapega Foundation, in partnership with our cause to save Deaf families during the War in Ukraine.
With our extensive disaster-response network and experience, we managed to stay ahead of the impacts of the war. We knew there would be direct attacks on Ukraine’s water supply and power grid so we began positioning high-grade water filtration systems and solar lights with mobile chargers throughout Ukraine. As a proactive measure, we made sure to include regions of the country that were not (yet) impacted by the shelling. Then, six months after we deployed longterm aid, Russia initiated a $5 billion campaign to send long-range missiles in an effort to leave the country without power (light, heat, etc). As the year comes to an end and during the coldest time of the year, Russia has continued to damage power facilities leaving key regions of Ukraine with limited electricity. Deaf Ukrainians are currently relying on our resources to survive.
We also solicited for and transported over 5 tons of food, hygiene supplies, reusable period pads and diapers (for babies and adults) from as far as England, over Europe and eventually into Ukraine. As the year comes to an end, we continue to position and direct incoming emergency relief to our hubs positioned throughout the country so that as aid comes in it can continue to be distributed directly to Deaf Ukrainians.
Tactical Strategies & More
We run an emergency remote hub of real-time danger zones, bomb shelters, and evacuation information for Deaf people surviving the war in Ukraine. By leveraging Sine-Pari’s elite leadership methods (a program developed by dedicated Special Operations, Special Forces, Interagency, and Intelligence Community veterans), we adapted to the unpredictable changes of the war and delivered tactical strategies across a number of NGOs, and Deaf and non-Deaf civilian-turned-humanitarians.
The challenges of life in a war-torn country are multi-faceted for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Communication is often difficult since they cannot hear the yells to leave the area or the gunfire. Off-The-Grid Missions is a nonprofit helping deaf and hard of hearing people in disasters around the world. NBC News’ Ellison Barber shares their story.
Sponsor our Safe Haven
A safe location to thrive for the Deaf Community in Haiti
Lebanon
The war in Ukraine is directly impacting Lebanon which has led to an extreme hunger crisis in addition to a shortage of electricity and water. The Lebanese pound has since also lost 90% of its value against the US dollar. As a result, people can not afford basic necessities such as food and medicine, nor can they afford gas to commute to access those resources. Ukraine and Russia’s grain supply has been blocked and no longer exporting to Lebanon (grain is used for making bread and other Lebanese foods, it is staple that those below the poverty level rely on to survive). Due to inflation, electricity is now limited to only ~2 hours a day which cuts-off lighting, access to elevators, communications, and more.
Our team has been supplying over 50 Deaf families with food boxes that contain a variation of Lebanese “dry” food staples (dry or non-perishable food is necessary because there is limited electricity for appliances such as refrigerators). We ensure that these food boxes arrive directly to the families and it is no easy task because in these tall buildings, without electricity there is no elevator access requiring the boxes to be carried up flights of stairs. Furthermore, access to homes is a long tedious journey by foot. Many access points do not allow for vehicles to fit through.
In addition to food boxes, we have been delivering oil and solar lights with mobile charging units which many Deaf families are using to hang in place of their ceiling light.
Pakistan Flooding
Severe flooding caused a third of Pakistan to go under water. Many homes belonging to Deaf people have been destroyed; and without support, we are discovering Deaf people in extremely desperate situations.
After learning how Deaf parents were selling their own kidney as a way to feed their children, our team responded by delivering food boxes to Deaf families. In addition to the hunger crisis, Dengue which is a virus that is carried by mosquitos, has also been causing serious illness and death.
Our team has provided Deaf families with food relief throughout four regions of Pakistan. Our team navigates through high-risk regions to ensure that these packages arrive directly to the families. Like Lebanon, this is no easy task; in Pakistan the flooding has forced our teams to navigate by boat over towns. Several times we have had to abort the mission to prevent the team from the risks unsafe waters and through periods of political unrest.
Hurricane Fiona, Puerto Rico
On the anniversary of Hurricane Maria that killed over 4,600 people in 2017, Puerto Rico was once again experiencing catastrophic flooding and an island-wide blackout after a Category 1 ripped through the island. Even more challenging was how Hurricane Fiona directly impacted our response as many of our team members are based in Puerto Rico. As a result, we were experiencing this unprecedented mix of ‘surviving and responding’. This hurricane once again left the island without electricity and water in addition to a gas shortage, ongoing landslides, and a heat advisory.
Food, Solar Lights with Mobile Chargers, Clean water
As the year comes to an end, Puerto Rico continues to lose electricity on an ongoing basis due to a weak infrastructure. This is a deliberate shutdown of power to enable the island to share electricity with other regions. Unfortunately, every time this occurs, lives are lost and Deaf people are cut-off from communications and vital resources.
We have also implemented clean water filtration systems throughout the island in addition to ensuring Deaf families have access to solar lights with mobile chargers and a network of over 100 humanitarian groups operating at each level of the crisis.
Our Longest Mission: Haiti
The threat to survival is at an all-time high in Haiti with the ongoing gang wars that have increased the risk of getting shot by a stray bullet, kidnapped, raped, or worse. This year, more individuals from the Deaf Community have died. Everyday we are adapting to the gang wars to continue our vital life-saving programs there. Despite the hardest year since our inception in Haiti, here is an inside look into what we were able to accomplish.
We Built an OTG Basecamp
Our new Basecamp in Haiti is home to our inventory of emergency response resources. Our Frontlines (Deaf OTG Leaders responding to provide emergency aid to Deaf people) come here to meet, strategize, train, and deploy from.
This year, the leaders of our Frontlines have became certified in Level 2 First Aid!
We Carried our “Safe Haven” Program into it’s Third Year
A tribute to the CHF Foundation, in partnership with our cause to save Deaf lives in Haiti.
The Safe Haven program is a secure and undisclosed location where Deaf and Hard-of-hearing women come to connect, learn, access job opportunities, and thrive. Outside the walls the threat of gang wars is evolving, so some days or weeks we are forced to close and everyone stays at home. The Safe Haven is staffed 100% by Deaf Haitians, and consists of Deaf-friendly neighbors too! Our goal was to sponsor the Safe Haven program to continue to provide a safe learning environment, and this year we surpassed that goal by increasing the quantity and improving the quality of the sewing machines and jewelry-making supplies; we also expanded the small job opportunities into soap-making and have begun preparations to make reusable period pads. 100% of the profits made via the small job opportunities at the Safe Haven are given back to the Deaf women; and during the months that they are unable to sell the products made as a result of civil unrest (when it is unsafe to leave their homes), we would make monthly contributions to help cover their personal needs.
We Deployed High-Risk Missions to Feed Isolated and Starving Deaf Families
The increase in gang violence makes it impossible for Deaf people in certain regions of Haiti to leave their homes for risk of being attacked, kidnapped, or worse. Gang wars have taken over the gas and inflation has food and water. So we have been deploying special missions to deliver emergency food relief packages to Deaf families facing a hunger crisis, solar technologies, water filtration systems, and reusable period pads.
We Continue to Advocate for Human Rights in Haiti
As a result of the ongoing violence targeting deaf people in Haiti, and in conjunction with our team working on the frontlines of these emergencies, we responded last year by developing a petition to help end human rights violations against deaf people in Haiti. Despite all of our efforts to bring light to this issue, it still has not been enough to save the lives of countless Deaf people we have lost once again this year alone. #offthegridHAITI
Divide & Conquer
The United States & Beyond…
By the end of the year, we found ourselves responding in various regions of the world at the same time– Ukraine, the Caribbean, Middle East, South Asia, and the United States. This became an unprecedented moment for us which meant that our limited supplies would become even more limited; and our Frontlines Directors leading the ground missions had to divide and conquer. Shortly after Hurricane Fiona devastated Puerto Rico, Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida; the war in Ukraine was intensifying; the gang violence in Haiti had reached an all time high; and our team stationed in Puerto Rico were not only responding to the devastation there, but were personally impacted. Despite all of these challenges, we managed to bring life-saving support to 25,000+ Deaf & Hard-of-hearing people worldwide.
Thank you to the 1,300 individuals who donated to our cause this year and to our 2023 Sponsors!
Change Agents in Disaster Response
Learn why OTG is working to close the “gap” in Disaster Response.
With the ongoing war in Ukraine, climate crisis, virus outbreaks, and humanitarian crises worldwide, disasters are becoming more frequent and severe. Each event is most challenging for the merely half a billion people worldwide with a hearing loss as they are first to get cut-off from vital information, and the last to receive life-saving help. Although no single disaster is ever the same, how we respond to each uses careful coordination and tactical strategies to ensure donor funds and in-kind resources donated are directly impacting those in need. We, OTG, want you to know how our supporters have made it possible for our NGO to continue to provide life-saving resources to Deaf and hard-of-hearing people and their families throughout 2022.
Thank you for taking the time to read our year-in-review. It was a tremendous honor to receive your support and we hope you will continue to be by our side again in 2023.
Respectfully Yours,
Angela Maria Nardolillo
Founder & President on behalf of the entire team at Off-The-Grid Missions, NGO
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