|
Lambwe Christian School for the Deaf, Kenya
by Yorke Rodda
Location
The school is located in a very remote small village called Ogongo
in the Kenyan province of Nyanza to the far west of the country. The road
from Homa Bay to Mbita goes through Ogongo, a small village about 17 km
from Homa Bay. There is no electricity, no telephones and no running water.
Lake Victoria is about 5 km north of the Village.
None of the staff own a car but there are irregular buses (Matatus) that
pass through the village. The closest large town is Homa Bay. It has hotels,
banks, shops and some government offices. Kisumu, about 140 km away, (3
hours+ on poor roads) has a port on Lake Victoria and an airport that
links it to Nairobi.
Pupils
The school is a primary school with 56 pupils from Class 0 to 8 (Year/Grade
0 to 8) and they range in age from 5 to 19 years. Most of the pupils live
in the Nyanza province. They are all boarders and so the school becomes
their home for most of the year. I was told that many of the children
are very apprehensive when it comes to the end of term as going home or
to family is not so easy. At the school these Deaf children are understood,
they "speak" the same language and accept each other. Often,
in their home communities they experience loneliness, rejection and are
considered stupid. About 23 of the 56 children are orphans. Where possible
the school encourages and helps pupils maintain contact with their family.
There is a very rudimentary "library" of books on a few shelves
and some education aids. During my time there I saw no toys, no sports
equipment, no books to read or any hobbies that engaged the pupils after
school hours. Helping with daily chores like fetching water, washing dishes
and helping on the farm makes up an important part of their day. The lack
of this sort of stimulation and activities does not damper the spirit
of the children. Through the use of signing they play with each other
and build close friendships.
Deaf people are just as able in almost every area of human endeavour
as hearing people. Hearing people who cannot sign have a disability when
it comes to communicating with Deaf people. Poor social interaction at
their homes, the lack of resources for speech training and almost no Deaf
role models in Kenya add to their difficulties.
Teaching Staff
There were 8 teachers but 2 died recently earlier in the year leaving
only 6 teachers, 4 of whom are paid by the government. The school also
has a US Peace Corp Volunteer. There are 9 classes (Class 0 to 8) and
this makes it impossible to spend the time needed with each child.
There is 8 non-teaching staff: 1 accounts clerk,
1 typist (secretary);
2 cooks,
1 housemother;
1 herdsman,
1 grounds man and 1 watchman.
The staff is caring, hard working and dedicated. Of the 14 members of
staff 10 are paid for out of the school fund (with money coming from school
fees, government grants and donations from a variety of sources mainly
through Siloam Christian Ministries). Over the last 4 years the school
has had the dedicated services of 2 Peace Corps Volunteers who have a
2 year term. They have clearly been a great blessing to the school and
the whole community. The headmistress said "we are going to have
a break from having a Peace Core worker from October 2006" and said
the main reason was the 10 000 Kes (about £75) cost to hire a home. Next
year a Deaf education student is going to do all her practical teaching
at the school. It is hoped that she will prove to be a model and an inspiration
to the students and also help with the in-service training of the staff,
only two of whom have any formal KSL training. The head (first on the
left) has provided exceptional vision and leadership. When she arrived
in 2000 there was only an old house for a school and now it is a significant
part of Ogongo and the area.
Facilities
There two school buildings with a total of 5 classrooms (two
classes meet in a class). There is a neat, large dormitory with boys sleeping
on the West side and girls on the East side separated by the housemother's
room which has access to both the boys and the girls. This is the top
building in the picture above. The children's clothes are kept in trunks
under the beds.
There is a building where the children eat their meals and do homework.
When there is money to pay for the generator's petrol they watch fuzzy
television. Most meals are cooked outside.
Community Ownership and Management
The school was started by a member of the community. I got a strong impression
of it being a community school but have been told that over the years
it has faced painful opposition from many of the locals because it was
supporting children who were considered to be cursed. The School Committee
are very committed and articulate Christians who work tirelessly and with
enormous dedication towards the school. The school is overseen by the
Anglican Bishop, Rt Rev James Ochiel, who has appointed a vicar who can
sign to serve in the local parish. This local vicar told me how friends
from abroad sponsored him to receive an education and the hearing aid
that enables him to minister to both the Deaf and hearing.
Kenya Sign Language, KSL
KSL is a fully developed and unique sign language. As with all of the
sign languages it is a "work in progress" and new words are
created all the time. The alphabet they use is almost identical to American
Sign Language. Pupils were able to teach me how to sign the alphabet,
count and many of the common words even though I thought it would be much
too difficult to learn anything in the 13 days I was to spend at the school.
The pupils are wonderful teachers - and so very keen to communicate! A
group of the little children told me about the food they loved - chicken,
beef, mutton ... and I understood it all. They then tried to ask me for
sweet. I conveniently pretended not to understand because I had a few
sweets and did not want to share them. I had learnt in a very short time
to be selectively 'Deaf'.
Use of the Land
The school has a reasonably large "shamba" or plot of land where
they grow maize and graze 10 head of cattle. Because the rains have been
exceptionally good in the last year the school estimates that they will
be able to provide almost half their corn (maize) needs. A 200 kg bag
lasts about a week. Beans and kale (a type of vegetable) have to be bought
as does the weekly treat of fish and meat. There are two full-time members
of staff taking care of the "shamba" and animals. If there was
more water a great deal more could be achieved towards being self sufficient.
Parent and Family Support
The view of most Kenyans, even parents and family of deaf children, is
that they will never be able to work for an employer. Paying school fees
for a deaf child is a very low priority. Slowly the school has managed
to get parents or carers to understand that the school is only partially
funded by the state and donors. The school makes an effort to inform family
and community about deafness.
Where to next?
The school has an "Action Plan" they have developed for the
next 5 years (2005/2006 to 2009/2010) and I will be adding this in as
an attachment or appendix to this report. This outlines what they see
as the schools mission and the school's aims.
To help them achieve this action plan the headmistress, the staff and
the chairman of the school committee agreed that there are 4 areas that
we as friends in the West should or could help with.
1) A sponsor for each child
Sponsorship must not undermine the work that the school has done to get
as many parents and relatives to pay school fees, currently set at 6000
Kes p.a. (about £45), as possible. There are many of the children whose
parents or family (in the case of orphans) would not be able to afford
any school fees. For these children the school often has to find money
to clothe them and transport them home in the holidays. The school tried
to introduce a "development fund" of 4000 Kes p.a. (about £30)
but this has had to be dropped. As mentioned 10 members of staff out of
the 14 are paid from the school's funds and so there is no money for sport,
educational aids etc. The plan is to match each child with up to 3 sponsors
in the West, a Christian, a Deaf person and one other.
2) Water
It would cost about 2m Kes (£15,000) to put down a borehole. Water is
seen as the highest priority next to finding the money for food and salaries.
When the tanks that carry the water from the roof run-off are empty pupils
from Class 2 upwards have to walk 2.5 km to fetch water. It is great drain
on the energy of staff and pupils and a continual source of concern. The
lack of water provides the opportunity for pupils, staff and visitors
like me to have a very good lesson in appreciating and managing of this
natural resource. Time and energy needed for learning are spent collecting
and caring water.
3) Vocational Training
(KSL, English and Swahili) and maths the need for vocational training
is paramount. The lap-top computer I took and left at the school and the
interest that this generated to all, staff and pupils alike, illustrates
the great hunger that exists to learning, typing and computing. Deaf pupils
have a great disability as their social and intellectual development is
also hampered. Computers, video, digital photography and films would provide
so very much to overcome their disadvantages.
4) Electricity
As a rough estimate two 120 Watt solar panels would supply enough power
for 4 light bulbs, 5 or 6 lap-tops and a television/VCR/DVD. This would
revolutionise the education at the school. Even if the government does
get electricity to the school the money saved in the long-term would,
I feel, make this worthwhile.
There are many other needs that should be considered in the near future.Two
examples: 1) The TV they use has only one channel and it is fuzzy and
distorted. A satellite dish would provide a better image and more than
one channel that would open up a window on their nation and the world.
2) Audiology and speech training would help many of these children communicate
with hearing people. We would be so blessed!
Make
a donation to this project
Gift Aid Information
Gift Aid Declaration Form
Top of page
|
