Paper on the deaf situation
 

Reformed Church of East Africa (RCEA), is a church with its headquarters found in Eldoret  town within the Rift Valley province of Kenya. She has 4 presbyteries, thus Western, Northern, southern and Eastern. Under each presbytery we have several parishes which are formed by amalgamation of several local churches, all over the region. This includes Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania

CARE department

-local resource mobilization

The main vision of this department, is, empowering the community and allows them own the programs, to achieve self sustenance.

Its through the move to serve the needy in the community that this department faced a great challenge.

Post election violence

Post-election violence in the wake of Kenya’s December 27,2007 general Election triggered a humanitarian crisis affecting most severely the Rift valley, Western, Central,  and Nyanza provinces, as well as poor urban neighborhoods in Nairobi, Kisumu and Eldoret .  The conflict resulted in displacement of about 500,000 people mainly along ethnic lines. At the peak of the crisis, about half of the internally displaced persons IDPs live in either formal or informal IDPs camps, while the other half were staying with host families.

There came a question on IDP's with disability. It came in to my notice that IDP's who are either deaf or hard of hearing suffered silently in the aftermath of this violence. Since they couldn’t go to the official camps, a larger number of these members partly camped in churches. Then on facing the fruits of negligence, they adopted different coping strategies, for example moving to very cheap rental houses (slums) and young deaf girls opted to prostitution .

You may ask yourself as to how did the ethnical calashes affect the deaf yet they communicate using Sign language- a language that had no issue with election? I got my answer from  testimonies shared by some affected  deaf women.

“I was married through a church wedding  with to a man of different tribe from mine, both of us are deaf-- I wish I knew the December 2007 election could lead to our divorce. – I  received a rude shock when my husband openly told me that, together with his family are no longer, in need of me, since people from my community betrayed them during the election time. As if that wasn’t enough, he went further and married a woman from his own tribe (Hearing woman) ---. I have one child and now I even cant tell where my parent family are, since they were evicted and houses burned  during the violence.---’’

Another testimony from a young deaf Girl "—My mother died in the year 2001 just after a long illness due to stress that resulted from the 1997 ethnical clashes that resulted to burning of our house--- last year 2007 the same thing happened, this time it was worse than I ever expected----- I am the only daughter in our family and my father loved me very much--- I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw my father's reaction after witnessing our house being burned—He took a machete (panga) and run direct to me ready to kill me claiming that I am the opposite community and I have burned the house , so he needs to revenge. – Neighbors came to rescue the situation and my father I am told was taken to Muranga (His ancestral home). Since I was borne, I have never gone to Muranga. I have been thinking that Chepterit was my home., I have suffered yet  I even didnt  vote, cant communicate in my  what they call my language because I am deaf. --- I was forced to move and now I stay at Kipkaren, I stay in a house that I pay 500 Kenyan shillings per month,--- I  have my baby that I got immediately after my primary school, he is 2 years old--- I get little coins from washing cloths for willing neighbors for 20 ksh or some time on   lucky day 50 ksh. Some times they refuse to pay me money, and instead give me food to eat, I refuse eating, not because I am satisfied but I remember my child at home has nothing to eat----- The government says people should go back home.My home is ashes, and my father’s where about isn’t known. Where do I go-----?’

Another testimony from 4 deaf girls "---- Yes we work in the bar, our homes were destroyed, and even our parents are very poor--- she is a total orphan--- we do this because we cant pay our house rent, buy food, cloths and medication.---- yes when a man comes we accept, some times the gentle one pay 100kenyan shillings  for the service and some times they finish and march away without paying, we try ask them for pay but ----maybe they don’t understand our language—yes if I get support I can stop this , because I don’t like what I do but I have no option. I am willing to go back to school and have vocational training but---’" 

Current problems facing the deaf IDP's community are:

-No food; from the onset of the post election violence, the deaf IDPs in Rift valley and other part of our church operation have never received any food support since they are forgotten by the lead humanitarian organizations .

-clothing

-Psychosocial support ; many deaf have adopted negative coping strategies such as prostitution.

-Education support - many deaf have been stopped from going to school due to parents attaching post election violence to the luck of fees. We have very few schools for the deaf in Kenya, and they are too expensive that becomes a great burden for parents to educate the deaf, especially the deaf girl children.

RCEA care department’s interventions

Through support from CRWRC (Christian, Reformed World Relief Committee ) we have been able to identify and serve over 70 families of the deaf IDPs just within Eldoret town. We were able to give NFIs (non food items) to the deaf displaced families and also offered psychosocial support to this community.   

Also through the department,  we have been able to request one private ECD teacher training collage within Eldret town to integrate the deaf for post-secondary education since we have no similar program in the country’s government institutions.  We offer free consultation to the college since it’s a new program and help the deaf learners pay fees, just through individual fundraising. We are also searching for a sponsor to support paying of sign language interpreter for the program so as to make it affordable to the deaf parents.  The course takes one year/ 3terms that costs abut 13,400 per term. Currently, we have two deaf girls already joined the college. 5 more have applied for September intake. If this succeeds, by may 2009 we will have the first trained deaf ECD teachers in the country.

Observations

Just from the testimonies above its vivid that this group needs more attention , not only for the relief intervention but also in capacity build up or empowerment . Just as a Hearing women and Girl child calls for special attention, the Deaf Girl child and women needs it more.

Way forward

It has been common for parents and the community to neglect the deaf Girls, especially after primary or secondary schools. This has been greatly been contributed to, by the few and expensive vocational alternatives for the deaf .The government has been trying to bridge the gap though too slow to cuter for the increased need. We only have one government Primary teacher training college that has integrated the deaf, however the entry grade is to high that leaves not more than 7 deaf learner to qualify for it every year.

The deaf girl child  is a victim of negligence, that has resulted  to many young deaf mothers especially after school. Its very shocking that many young deaf Girls opt for early marriage, prostitution and even some suffer silently the results of sexual harassment.
 

-We are encouraging deaf women to establish associations and through them achieve empowerment.

and through them achieve our departments objectives . The deaf people also can equally contribute to community development if given a chance and an opportunity to do so

The RCEA conference centre burned by unknown people because it was used to keep relief food to support the targeted community.

Conclusion