Fatima and Saynab's story
Fatima and Saynab
HargeisaSomaliland
About me
My Story
In Somaliland, some people strongly believe that, if you have a child with a disability, it is a curse from God. If your child is disabled, it is because you have done something wrong and God is punishing you. For that reason many parents decide to keep their disabled child at home. They hide their child to avoid others seeing that they have a disabled child.
Fatima is the mother of a deaf girl, Saynab. She used to keep Saynab in a special room in her house so that visitors couldn’t see her daughter when they came to see Fatima. This isolation meant that Saynab, was unable to walk in the same way as other children when she was 13. It has also had an impact on her social and emotional skills as well as her mental health. Saynab was always agitated and sometimes quite violent. Fatima did not understand and could not communicate with her daughter.
Fatima and Saynab’s house was very close to the local deaf school, Hargeisa School for the Deaf. One day, Fatima visited the school to learn more about what was going on. She told Yasmin, the school director, that she had a deaf girl and wanted to know if her daughter could learn and participate in school activities. Fatima also explained that she had never let her daughter out of the house and that she really did not know if and how it would be possible to bring her to school and let her play with other children.
Yasmin showed Fatima around the school, showed her the classrooms, and introduced her to other deaf children who were at the school. The other deaf boys and girls were learning and playing and were even being taught by a deaf woman! This was a real eye opener for Fatima. She imagined her daughter at school and saw Saynab could learn and go to school.
It was difficult for Saynab at first. In the first days at school, Saynab was sometimes very shy and very frustrated. She got annoyed by anyone who got close to her; the teachers, other children and any other person who came to the school. The first ten days she was crying a lot and was very restless. It was such a new environment and there were so many people, especially after such a long time in a small room!
Slowly however, Saynab got to know the teachers and the other children. No one was trying to hurt her! Yasmin, the school director, always looked out for her to see if she was ok. She also accompanied her to and from home everyday because Yasmin always walks past Fatima and Saynab’s house. These short walks and quick visits were a great opportunity to chat, to stop and talk with Fatima, tell her how things were going at school, what was changing at home, etc.
Now Saynab is 16. She has been at the Hargeisa School for the Deaf for three years and is in grade three. She signs Somali Sign Language (SSL) fluently. She can also read and write words and small sentences. Fatima has learnt SSL at the Hargeisa School for the Deaf and she is so happy to be able to communicate with her daughter.
Saynab walks freely from and to school without being accompanied by anyone. She isn’t scared anymore and has lots of friends!
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