So the week of "working" with him was a total let-down and discouragement, but if a deaf child refuses to look at you, you make ZERO progress! :( I tried to make the best use of the time and ended up having educational and empowerment sessions with the mother everyday, so I really felt good about that. His mother was sooo thankful for every and any tidbit of information I was offering. I kept praising her for the sacrifice she was making to walk in each day, while she has so many other children to care for and so much work to be done at home. Everything was through a translator, so our sessions took a long time, but she was soaking it all in. I know her head must've been spinning, I gave her so much to think about. We talked about everything from the use of language, what he was missing out on by not having a language, to how his sense of vision is heightened, his sense of identity, and trying to see the world through his eyes. She taught me all the home signs they use and I taught her a bunch of useful signs to add to it (like cook, wash, work, help, hurt, fire, wood, sleep, eat, wake-up, sit, etc). We drew the family members, made name cards and made up name signs for each of them (as well as Najib of course) and I explained how she could teach the family their names signs and how to introduce the concept of family and the concept of names. On the way back to the guest house on Thursday, after a particularly exhausting afternoon, Najib and his mother were walking in front of us and he turned and looked back (not realizing I was behind him) and his eyes accidently met mine for the first time all week. He actually smiled at me then quickly hid his face in his mother's skirt! Alea and I both started squealing for joy! "Mommy, you finally made a break through!!!" she said. He had such an adorable smile and such a cute little face...it ached that he was keeping it hidden from me all week. Then the next day, Friday, our last chance, the mother out of desperation pulled the older brother (age11) out of school and brought him with her and Najib. Now we finally had a REAL breakthrough! What a genius idea on the mother's end. Najib looks up to his older brother and they get along really well. His brother was a complete dear and wanted to learn as much sign language from me as possible to communicate with Najib. Najib kept peeking through the cracks in his hands to watch what his brother was doing. We were having such a grand time! The brother and I acted out bumping into each other and signing "hurt", falling on the ground and signing "hurt", banging our heads on the wall and signing "hurt", pretending to be mad and fighting, then signing "hurt". Najib actually laughed while peeking through his hands, but was he getting the concept of being hurt? Then we acted out "sleep" and "wake up", "sit down, stand up" and on & on, all the while Najib pretending not to watch, but completely fascinated. Then we sat and did some activities, like color matching, and each time his brother signed something I would praise, high 5, give him stickers, etc. His brother kept begging him to join in, but he refused and kept covering his face (but always left a crack for viewing). After about 2 hours, we were doing a "same, different" concept activity and asked Najib if the 2 balls were the same or different and he took his hands off his eyes, buried his face in his mom's skirt, lifted his hands up over his head and signed "same"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I instantly burst out crying for joy! It was like a Helen Keller moment! Then a little while later, he signed "different" (again not looking at me and signing it behind his back). So those were the 2 signs I got out of him the whole week. I wish the mom would've brought the brother in from day 1! My heart longed to stay another week, a month, a year, to keep working with him and just see how far I could take him...he'd have to warm up to me eventually! There is a Deaf boarding school in Kampala (couple hrs away), but there is no way the mother could afford the fees to send him there, plus the same dilemma that parents of young Deaf children here in the USA face: do I send my little child off to a boarding school for the week and only see him on weekends? One interesting note: I found out that Ugandan Sign Language is about 50% the same as ours, and 50% different. The Special Needs teacher had a USL book that I scoured every lunch break and every chance I got...completely fascinating! Plus Uncle Eric (the teacher) knows quite a bit of Ugandan Sign Language, so I would ask him lots of questions. He is going to try to start working one-on-one with Najib for 1 hr on the Community Day on Fridays, so hopefully he will be able to make more progress than I did (especially being a Ugandan male instead of a white female). Again, this is all on "unfunded time"; New Hope is just doing it as a courtesy for Najib; Uncle Eric is needed to run the class, but they thought if they could just give Najib a bit of consistency and not lose what little momentum we gained this week. If any of my Deaf Ed. colleagues want to quit their jobs and move to Uganda, there is a tremendous opportunity awaiting you ! P.S. the job doesn't pay a thing and you'd have to raise your own support to live there, but think of the ground-breaking work you'd be doing...giving a child the gift of language and an education!!! Defiitely makes me want to move there! And it definitely makes me contemplate all the other Deaf and more severely disabled children around the world who live in countries and rural areas that offer them nothing but a life of beggin on the street. There is no such thing as Special Ed, let alone the field of Deaf Education. There is no protection or advocacy from the government; they have no rights or laws on their behalf. Often they face severe rejection, abuse and isolation from their families and society. There was one girl that came in on Friday for Community Day, dragged by her brother like a wild animal (they keep her tied up with a rope). She has epilepsy and fell in a fire, so half her body is burned. She has obvious other mental disabilites, but they're not sure if it's brain damage from the seizures or what her diagnosis is, but it was such a sad situation. Many of the mothers that I saw come in on Friday, seemed to come out of desperation (if not only for the free food), but I know that Najib's mother came each day because she truly wants the best for her son. She was a very patient, gentle woman and you could tell his brother adored him. Najib may not have a language, but at least he has love. I can sleep good at night knowing that.
UPDATE ON NAJIB (Nov 2011) Great news! Najib's mother has agreed to let him go to a residential school for the deaf 3 1/2 hrs away. He would come home on weekends, just like our dorm students do here at our state schools for the Deaf! I am currently looking for people to help donate to his schooling fees and start-up costs, so that he can start the new term in Feb 2012! He needs a mattress, bed sheets, towel, school uniform, shoes (he was barefoot every time I saw him), and school supplies before he can begin school. Then he needs people to help pay his monthly expenses (school fees, food/lodging, transportation home & back). If you are interested in either sponsoring him (on-going monthly committment of $20-$30) or a one-time donation (both options are tax deductable), please email me directly at: anissajh@yahoo.com
We can give the gift of language, education, hope of a brighter future this holiday season, to a formerly "unknown" little deaf boy in a rural village of Uganda!!!! We all know that knowledge is power...without any formal language or formal education, Najibs future is very grim. None of us get to choose where we are born...either in poverty or the United States of Abundance! YOU can make a difference in someone's life who was less fortunate than us to be born into a world of hopelessness. There r no laws protecting his rights, there is no government assistance programs for a disabled child, no disability or social security checks coming in the mail, no special education laws, no services for him. Thankyou for prayerfully considering helping a deaf child on the other side of the globe who does not have the same opportunities or resources that our deaf children here in the USA have!
UPDATE FEB 2012:
Thanks to the generosity of some of my Deaf friends and friends involved in the Deaf Community here in WI as well as my old pals from Alaska State School for the Deaf, Najib is now enrolled in school!!! He is attending a residential school for children with disabilities in Uganda in the "Hearing Impaired" classroom. With the donated money, New Hope was able to buy him new shoes, a school uniform, a mattress & bed sheets, school supplies and cover his first year of school fees! The money also covers transportation costs for New Hope staff to check on him, for his mother to visit him, and for him to come home on school holidays. He just turned 6 years old TODAY (Feb 25)!!! So please pray for any "homesickness" he might be experiencing, as he was quite a "mammas boy". He is VERY bright and they report he has been learning quickly and teaching the rest of his family sign language as well!
Here is a close-up picture I received of him (not as camera shy anymore ;):
Ill definitely praying for him become himself with the language you taught him and family. Its amazing God brought him to you! PTL!
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