Deaf Entrepreneurs Promote Sign Language
Emmanuel Tokali has been deaf since birth, which has made the world around him a beautiful yet soundless place, dominated by eternal silence.
Despite this, his deafness has never held him back from achieving his dreams. Born and raised in Kilifi, Kenya, he attended special schools for both primary and secondary education but failed to attend university due to a lack of funds.
Nevertheless, if given the opportunity, he would love to study special needs education.
The deaf community faces many challenges, one of which is communication. Most people do not know sign language and are left to guess what a deaf person wants.
However, Mr Tokali saw an opportunity to bridge the communication gap between the hearing and the hearing-impaired by starting a business.
He partnered with a friend to open the Excellence Sign Language Training Centre in February 2022, which teaches people sign language while breaking down communication barriers.
The institute is accredited by the Technical and Vocational Education Training and offers three courses. The basic course is 25,000 Kenyan Shillings and runs for three months, while the advanced course costs 31,000 Kenyan Shillings for three months.
Interpretation costs 71,000 Kenyan Shillings and takes one and a half years to complete. The centre’s lessons run from 8:30 am to 6:30 pm from Monday to Friday, and on Saturdays, the lessons run from 8:30 am to midday.
Currently, the class has seven students, consisting of five women and two men. The low enrolment is attributed to the lack of awareness about the existence of the centre and community stigma associated with deafness.
However, there are no age restrictions on who can learn the language as the aim is to let sign language be known by everyone.
The classroom walls of the centre are filled with pictorial paper charts that have types of greetings, numbers, alphabet sign charts, food, and jobs.
These charts are essential teaching aids used for demonstration purposes. Mr Abdulnasir Lenjo, Tokali’s partner, is also deaf.
He used to teach at Mwanyambo Primary School for the Deaf but was forced to stop teaching when Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC) was introduced because he found it too challenging.
Lack of good sign language teachers has been a challenge that reflects in the students’ performance. The deaf students prefer deaf teachers to teach them as they understand each other not only verbally but also emotionally.
The deaf usually prefer to remain isolated because few people know sign language. They decide to stay away as they cannot engage in most activities. They often practice endogamy marriage, which is marriage within one’s group.
According to Miss Vivian Talu, a student at the institution who is taking the interpretation course, sign language interpreters are needed in county government offices, hospitals, mosques, churches, and police stations.
She says that the deaf have challenges getting services from those offices. Mr Lenjo and Tokali are making efforts to meet with the county government about the inclusion of the deaf in their programs, but they have not been successful yet.
Deaf Entrepreneurs Promote Sign Language
