In the 1970s, the deaf people of Nicaragua rarely met. They lived isolated lives and used simple gestures to communicate with their friends and family. In 1977, a special programme for the deaf was started in a suburb of Managua. At first, fifty children took part. When the Sandinist came to power, the number of pupils rose to hundred. In 1980, a vocational school for deaf people was opened in another part of Managua. In 1983, both schools together had about 400 pupils.