,
13 tweets,
5 min read
Read on Twitter
The month of September is the Deaf Awareness month. This week Monday,we witnessed the Sign language day where hundreds of people showed up to create awareness and bring out the challenges faced by this group,with special focus on access to QUALITY EDUCATION,here is a thread.#SDG4 
Children who are deaf are faced by myriad of challenges. Besides the general challenges faced by PWDs,the advocacy has focused so much on delivering wheelchairs forgetting the deaf often. Here is a list of challenges faced by the deaf backed up by data. @KTNKenya @citizentvkenya
Deaf are often assumed to be dumb/mentally handicapped and people treat them like children. This has not only led to self esteem issues but also mental health challenges because they keep feeling left out and misunderstood.
Most schools in Kenya have only catered for primary level of education,very few secondary schools for the deaf. University level both private&public has failed to cater for the needs of the deaf. This has led to huge number of dropouts adding to the unemployment and poverty cycle
The deaf community find it hard to get jobs. Speaking to *Abdi* who belongs to Eastleigh deaf association,he said that when they apply for jobs and their potential employers realize they are deaf,they are often not selected. @citizentvkenya @KTNKenya @ntvkenya
4. Since the passion for education is there,they are forced to employ their own interpreters who accompany them to school. On top of the school fees at college&university,they equality pay the interpreters. For families that can barely afford fees,this is beyond their capability.
5. Girls especially find it hard to even leave their homes as their parents fear that they might be harmed. This has led them to miss out in both education and other social activities. So much for SDG5?
The greatest challenge faced by the deaf is access to education and the quality of the education itself. Another greater challenge is the lack of economic opportunities even for the learned deaf. Who are often left due to language barriers.
Families of the deaf do not even understand the sign language making it hard for communication. At work and schools,the deaf are never understood because we have failed to invest in sign language as a country. The biggest frustration is language barrier. @Asmali77 @Imitiaz254
Let us have a look at the National special needs education policy framework. This document highlights the needs and solution to help PWDs in ACCESS AND RETENTION. But how much of this has been followed or supported?
In the framework,the constitution has been quoted.The childrens act and education act which strongly support the rights of PWDs. How comes then works spaces are not ready to absorb the deaf? @mayar_dollin @Imitiaz254
As we role out CBC, @KICDKenya ensure that the deaf have been catered for. @PPGKenya & the NA should ensure that we pass a law that mandates private and public universites to hire an interpreter because we need quality education and not having commercialized institutions.
We need inclusive education. Resources must be allocated to have Atleast three secondary schools per county to cater for the blind and the deaf. This is about access. #SignLanguageAwareness
