Kenya
Poverty and stigma mean that deaf children are often left out of their families and communities. Our research showed that many families in Kenya think that a deaf child has “no profit” and is not worth investing in. With our partners, we are working to change this.
The majority of the estimated 230,000 Kenyan deaf children have hearing parents and live below the poverty line, as few as 3,600 are in schools for the deaf. Many of these children are denied their rights to free primary education, protection from abuse and neglect and inclusion in family and community. Read more here about three local partner organisations who we are working with to bring about real change for deaf children, empowering them to realise their rights and enjoy equal access to health, education and participation in family and community life.
Little Rock Inclusive Early Childhood Development Centre
Little Rock is located in Kibera slum, Nairobi. It provides pre-primary babies and children with early stimulation and development opportunities as well a safe place to play and learn whilst their parents are at work. In Kibera slum few children have such opportunities, and Little Rock’s work plays a crucial role in preparing children intellectually and emotionally for the jump into a formal educational environment. Early years support for deaf children and their families is particularly crucial, however, since deaf children face significant communication challenges and usually enter primary school lacking in basic communication skills.
Little Rock’s Deaf Unit was established in 2004 and now supports 35 children with the help of four teachers, two of whom are deaf. Other children attending the centre and teachers at the school have also been learning sign language enabling the deaf children feel included in the centre activities. Every Saturday Little Rock provides KSL training to parents and siblings to ease communication at home. We hope that our work with Little Rock will provide a model for low-cost early years support and will provide evidence of how much deaf children can achieve with the right support in the early years.
Undugu Society of Kenya
The Undugu Society of Kenya was established in 1975 to respond to the needs of children and youth living and working on the streets of Nairobi. We at DCW support the society in its efforts to increase understanding and awareness of deaf rights in the community. Through their outreach work, the society identifies deaf children and youths living and working on the streets and in the slums and allows them to enter mainstream primary education, or undertake vocational training or an apprenticeship. One of the main aims of the society is to reconnect alienated deaf youths with their families. Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) is taught at home to ease communication and encourage reintegration. Project workers carry out home visits to ensure that parents are developing their communication skills and to make sure that the children are staying in education.
The society also works to raise awareness and increase understanding of deaf issues in the community. It runs deafness sensitisation workshops for teachers and health workers. Leaders of Street Associations and Community Based Organisations are trained in basic KSL to enable them to include deaf children and youth in their street outreach work in Nairobi. The society is improving access to healthcare through holding hearing assessment camps, helping people determine their degree and type of deafness and related conditions. Thanks to their association with the Starkey Foundation, around 40 children have also benefitted from free hearing aids in 2010.
ANPPCAN
DCW will be working in partnership with The African Network for the Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) to implement the ‘Rights for Deaf Children and Families in Kenya’ programme for the next three years on behalf of the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
This project aims to ensure deaf children in Kenya have access to their rights, in particular the rights to family life, education and protection which are often denied them. Through establishing parents’ peer support groups and providing KSL training the project aims to develop the capacity of parents and the wider family to communicate with and support their deaf child. Parents are encouraged to acknowledge their responsibilities regarding their child’s rights, and to engage in local decision making processes affecting their deaf child. The project works with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Department for Children’s Services (Ministry of Home Affairs) and existing NGOs in 6 Kenyan districts. At a national level, the project will support parents and the wider family to participate in creating a national movement of parent’s of the deaf that advocates with government decision makers to influence provision for deaf children and their families.
Learning with our partners in Kenya
This 5-year programme builds on our previous experience working with the Kenya Society for Deaf Children and other local organisations to improve the lives of deaf children and their families. Since 2004, we have:
- supported over 120 families in Nairobi slums and 80 parents in rural Kitui district to learn Kenyan Sign Language and develop more positive attitudes towards their deaf children
- supported the establishment of seven self help groups for families of deaf children
- delivered life skills training to 80 young deaf people living in residential schools covering children’s rights, sexual health and protection, relationships, identity and self esteem
- Together with deaf young people, produced a Deaf Children's Manifesto and facilitated these young people to present the manifesto to the Vice President, the Hon Moody Awori.
