At the Ramón Téllez Special Education School, Yaima Ramírez Poyato’s passion for special education shines through in every sentence she speaks when she refers to “her children” as if they were her own, and in the boundless satisfaction she feels at every small spark of knowledge she ignites in her students, who are deaf or blind.

Daily challenges arise, she admits, noting that working with deaf, blind, and low-vision children is a true testament to the fact that with determination, anything is possible —and no disability can overcome each child’s desire to learn.

At age 18, she began as a teaching assistant, and in 2001, she started her degree in Special Education. Since then, she has never stopped working with deaf children —first in early intervention and now in first grade— accompanying her students on that beautiful and complex journey of learning to communicate.

“It’s a very rewarding job, because these are children who need a lot of love and who do learn, even if the process is slower; and when they succeed, the family’s joy is immense and shared by everyone,” she says.

Every child who enters school brings a family with them, and if that family doesn’t learn Cuban Sign Language, the child’s progress remains incomplete. That’s how her work with families began —that parent education program that became a key component of her method.

“The results always come. The children graduate prepared, with their own language, and with a way of understanding the world that opens doors for them.”

Today she teaches two young girls, Isabella, a first-grader, and Vanessa, a preschooler who recently arrived from the La Victoria daycare center; both are profoundly deaf. With them, Yaima has a single purpose: to build a bridge between their minds and the world. “Communication takes place through Cuban Sign Language. If you don’t know sign language, you can’t achieve your goals,” she affirms.

That’s why she insists —with the wisdom that comes with age— that children learn not only sign language but also lip-reading, as well as facial and body expressions.

“We use teaching aids and real objects to help them understand better. When we teach using a real object, a label, and the corresponding signs, they grasp the concepts more quickly; they enjoy learning through games,” she explains.

“I’ve had many happy moments at this school. It’s rewarding when a student needs your attention, or when they tell you they missed you over the weekend. Being a teacher means a lot to me. A teacher is someone who ignites the spark in every little human being, who reaches out a hand so they can learn to walk on their own.

“A teacher is one of a kind. They provide the tools for students to understand the world through different languages, learn to live with others, and become valuable members of society.”

For Yaima, every school year convinces her to keep going because, in her words, it’s very difficult to leave behind those who need you.