The Oral School for Deaf Children – Kolkata, India

When we first stepped into the Oral School for Deaf Children in Kolkata, we were pleasantly surprised by the messages spread throughout the walls, written on brochures, and spoken directly from the teachers who work there:

“I hear with my heart, listen with my eyes, and speak with my hands”
“Come share our world of silence”
“Make friends with a deaf child”

Understanding the complexities of poverty, the caste system, and a common negligence towards any disability in India, The Oral School for Deaf Children seeks to give deaf children a chance in this world. The teachers show great passion for their work and students are encouraged to continue onto college or find employment. Where there is opportunity, they can prove themselves by giving back to their society the same as anyone else.

The title “Oral” school can be misleading, since their approach is actually total communication, using speech, signing, lip reading, mime, and gestures. “What is most important is that there is communication…an understanding,” says Senior Head Teacher Mrs. Jaya Gangulie.

Now working with 38 students and 12-15 teachers, the Oral School for Deaf Children will celebrate it’s 44th anniversary on August 10th. During our two all-day visits to the school, the students wore bright, genuine smiles, despite the severely limited space they had to work in. Current fundraising projects seek to find a more appropriate physical environment to accommodate for the school’s growth over the years.

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

Change of Plans for DDW

Hello friends! We are 7+ months into our travels of discovering deaf worlds and realize we are well overdue for an update. We are currently in Kolkata, India and originally planned to travel throughout this country for the next 6 weeks. However, there is currently a major protest happening in Northern India that may escalate with more potential violence. In the last nine days, over 15,000 protestors, many Gujjar tribe, have gathered to block railways in and out of Delhi and Jaipur. They are pressuring the government to reclassify them as members of the lowest caste so they can benefit from government quotas. Clashes with the 45,000+ police have already occurred and at least 43 people have been killed.

We planned to visit both Jaipur and Delhi within the next couple weeks but have decided to change our plans. Between the current political issues, and the nearly unbearable pre-monsoon heat, we instead will visit Nepal. After the dust settles, we plan to return to India in August and pick up where we left off.

In the meantime, we are spending much of our time in Kolkata at the Shuktara house, a residential care for boys and girls with disabilities who have no families. We are stunned by the stories of each of these children and have fallen in love with the family they have created amongst each other.

We will continue to post blogs when internet access is convenient. But a more reliable way to hear from us for the remainder of our trip is through our monthly newsletter that you can sign up for at: www.discoveringdeafworlds.com

For more news on the protest, visit http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2008/05/30/2_lower_caste_protesters_killed_in_india/

Not Your Typical Mainstream Environment

After seven months of travel through six different countries, today was the first time we observed an environment where balanced numbers of future interpreters and deaf students share the same classroom. At Ratchasuda College in Bangkok, Thailand, the goal is hearing/deaf integration. The philosophy of this program has been rooted in bi-lingual, bi-cultural education since the official acceptance of Thai Sign Language by the government in 1999.

Jitprapa Sri-oon, Dean of Curriculum for Deaf Education, explained to us the importance of deaf and hearing students working together, using Thai Sign Language as the main mode of communication, in an equal learning environment. With an integrated classroom, the goal is for interpreting students to develop sign language skills and exposure to deaf culture from their peers and deaf students to learn more about working in the hearing world after they graduate. The focus is on peer education and support to break down barriers between the hearing and the deaf world.

Does this system exist in your country? Should interpreting students and deaf students share the same classroom at the university level?

Do you know who I am?

Charles Dittmeier with F4

Last September 19th, a young deaf man was dropped off at the Deaf Development Programme (DDP) house in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. No passport, no identification, no documentation….and no language….no signing, no speaking or lip reading and no writing ability. He appears to be ethnically Khmer, but no one knows where he was born or where he came from or how he got to Cambodia. He is around 19-years-old and currently goes by the name F4 because of a tattoo on his right forearm (likely done by himself, as he is left handed). It reads the English letter ‘F’ written backwards and the number 4.

DDP Director Charles Dittmeier and his staff have patiently worked together for the last seven months to try and fill in the gaps. But without a language to communicate, it has been a real challenge. Through pictures, gesturing and teaching F4 some basic Cambodian Sign Language (which recently began development only 12 years ago), the DDP have been very creative in their ways to find out more information. The challenge now, however, is the time frame in which F4 communicates. When he signs a thought or statement, is he referring to his past, or just using the signs he has learned in imitation?

Searching for symbols of his past, Dittmeier has taken F4 to mosques, temples, and churches to see if that stirs up any familiarity. In December, he showed F4 pictures of Santa Claus to see if that meant anything. But no such luck. It is not likely that F4 is even from Cambodia. He doesn’t like Khmer food and his gesture for “food” is to make the shape of a sandwich or hamburger near his mouth.

The government has been unresponsive to Dittmeier’s requests to take responsibility for this lost identity. For example, when one crosses the border into Cambodia, a photo is taken. Dittmeier has asked the immigration department to search the database for F4’s photo to discover his name and identity. The immigration department has declined, saying it would be too time consuming.

Currently, F4 is living in Phnom Penh and getting along well with the other deaf students. Despite his lack of language, he is friendly and outgoing and well liked by others.

The search for more information continues. Have you seen F4 before? If you have any information, please respond to our blog and we will pass on your comments to DDP.

First Impressions of the Deaf Community in Thailand

Within a few hours of arriving in Bangkok, we met a deaf womyn selling cell phone “I love you” ornaments for 30 baht each ($1.00 USD) on the Khao San market. Moments later, we turned the corner and bumped into another deaf womyn selling bathing suits to make her living. We quickly found out that on Silcom and Nai Lert Roads in downtown Bangkok, it is required by law for vendor permits to be reserved for those who are deaf, blind or physically handicapped. Deaf vendors up and down these streets sell their merchandise by day and end their evenings socializing on the sidewalks with family style Pad Thai, curry and Singha. These are the faces of Bangkok.

On day two, we met up with Gallaudet Alumni and native to Thailand, Jay Bunnag, who is striving to bring the deaf community together by hosting academic bowls and other gatherings. The challenges Jay faces in bringing people together are often financial. In this environment where everyone, deaf or hearing, is trying to make a living to get by, can they afford the 250 baht for a social event? Also, there are very few deaf of deaf families here, perhaps less than 1%. While many deaf people have smaller circles of friends, the culture of deaf clubs/events or larger community socials, which can be common in other countries, are not so much a part of the deaf culture in Thailand.

Jay currently works at Suan Dusit University to educate deaf students. He was inspired to first earn his MA, knowing that he would be teaching up and coming deaf leaders earning their BA. Many of these deaf students will later give back by becoming teachers themselves, raising the bar for deaf education in Thailand.

There are many similar signs between Thai and American Sign Language, which has been a relief for these initial, get-to-know-you conversations we have had our first few days. But we now have our five pocket Thai Sign Language books in hand and are connected to the local deaf community. Each day we stroll through the markets of Khao San en route to our hostel to say hello to the deaf vendors. So before we leave Thailand two months from now, we hope to learn and document more of their stories…in their native sign language.

For more information on Discovering Deaf Worlds, visit www.discoveringdeafworlds.com