National Library to Offer Sign Language Training
Voice to the Voiceless has partnered with the Kenya National Library Services to offer sign language classes to interested members of the public. The program was launched in Nyeri last month by trainers Rahab Wairimu and her interpreter Elizabeth Miringu.
They realized there was a gap between the hearing-impaired community and other members of the public, and felt the need to introduce sign language because of the challenge of speaking to people in private without an interpreter.
They also noted the difficulty of accessing government services, supermarkets, banks, and health facilities because most of these institutions do not have a sign language interpreter.
Working with the Library has benefited the trainers as they get access to free internet for research, computer classes where the deaf can learn, and the opportunity to reach readers who visit the Library.
They offered a one-week free training to the KNSL staff on Kenya Sign Language as a form of reciprocation.
The classes are open to anyone interested, especially for the basics level, but for the advanced level, they prefer someone who already possesses a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education.
They noticed that a high number of those interested are young women, and the classes are part-time, usually three times a week, with each session taking two hours, from 4 pm to 6 pm or from 10 am to 12 pm.
The cost is Sh20,000 for the basic level and Sh25,000 for the advanced level, which runs for three months each and is inclusive of registration, tuition, attachment, and exam fees.
Dorcas Wanjiru, a Form-four leaver and currently a learner at the library, decided to enroll in the training as it will be an added advantage in her future professional career.
She intends to pursue Law and reckons that the skills will come in handy in assisting those in need of her services.
The trainers hope to reach a large number of Nyeri residents, especially those in the service industry, to help create awareness and reduce stigma for the affected.
The trainers reach out to the public through churches, public announcements, and relevant health authorities under the county government to inform a large number of people about the sign language classes.
They also urged the county government to consider sign language classes or get interpreters to help the deaf community in communication when they need their services.
According to the National Population Census of 2019, there are 153,381 hearing-impaired people in Kenya aged above five years, and most of them (129,518) are in rural areas.
The International Day of Sign Languages (IDSL) is celebrated annually across the world on September 23, along with International Week of the Deaf. It is the same date that the World Federation of the Deaf was established in 1951.
Currently, more than 1.5 billion people (nearly 20 per cent of the global population) live with a hearing loss, and 430 million of them have disabling hearing loss. By 2050, there could be over 700 million people with disabling hearing loss globally.
National Library to Offer Sign Language Training