First Deaf Member of Parliament in Asia Selected!

We've arrived to Kathmandu, Nepal with a warm welcome from Australian Philip Waters of the Volunteer Service Organization (VSO). After greeting us at the airport and a quick stop by The Bakery Cafe where several deaf employees work, we were lead to our accommodation at the Hotel Metropolitan Kantipur which is owned by a deaf couple.

The following day we visited the Nepal National Federation of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NFDH) and were invited to a very important ceremony, recognizing Raghav Bir Joshi, a deaf man from Nepal who has recently been selected into a government position.

"Raghav will be the first Deaf member of Parliament in Asia. He has for 25 years worked for the effective rights of Deaf people. He is a sign language user and uses Sign Language interpreters to communicate. It is not a success only for him, but also for the thousands of deaf people". With Radha Bohara interpreting, he promised, "he will work hard for the rights of Deaf people, physically challenged, and intellectual disabilities in the new constitution."

We look forward to interviewing Raghav in the next couple of weeks, as he is an instrumental leader to the deaf community.

Our first impression of Kathmandu is very "deaf-friendly". We have met over 30 deaf local deaf people in our first 24 hours here and recognize that many hearing people are comfortable with written and gesture communication. With our Nepali Sign Language dictionary in hand, thanks to NFDH, we are learning new signs the best we can to communicate more effectively.

For more information about Raghav Bir Joshi and the Nepal National Federation of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, visit www.nfdh.org.np/newsdetail.php?id=19

Photos:
NFDH President Bikash Dangol with Raghav Bir Joshi
Christy Smith, Bikash Dangol, Raghav Bir Joshi, Dave Justice