Status of the Deaf Nation - Kenya Looking back Ahead....

Here are some highlights.....

 1950s - establishment of the first Deaf schools in Kenya

  KNAD established 1987 – 2000 tremendous growth supported by SHIA (Sweden)

  KNAD affiliate 11

  Advocacy, Youth, Women, Economic/Labor , Sports

  1990s established KSLRP

  1990s first KSL pictorial dictionary

  1990 – 2000 KSL training at KSLRP

  2000 – KSLIA established

  2005 – KSL interactive dictionary

  2002 – KNAD lack of funding

  2005 – 2011 Restructured KNAD

Milestones in Deaf World- Kenya

  2000 – GDC established

  2000 – DOOR Internationals

  Constitutional Review Process

  2005 – 2012 KNAD restructuring

  KSLIA, KNAD, GDC, Deaf Aid – Interpreter Forums, Code of Ethics, Interpreter trainings,

  LVCT Reproductive health

  Sarakasi Deaf Acrobatics

  IDC – IYDCC emergences

  Deaf Sports - blackstars, basketball, athletics

  COE query into KSL – UoN, WFD and KNAD letter and Memorandum accepted

  Deaf students at KU, UoN and Maseno

  Deaf Aid’s CISCO Academies, ECD

  CBM, Undugu, Leonard Chesire Disability, LVCT, Peace Corps, employ Deaf professionals

  Kenyan Parliament accepts 4 Interpreters

  Deaf Paralympic teams

  Interpreters Forum

Challenge - Problem

  Access to information – TV, Cell

  Education – all levels

  Essential services – healthcare, legal, commerce,

  Lack of Research and Documentation

  Quality of KSL training

  Operationalization of legislation

  Lack of standards

  Lack of IEC – (appropriate) a poster is not a poster in Deaf Culture

  Lack of consumer awareness

Where we are at

  Constitution provisions

  PWD Act 2003/5/12

  Special Needs Education Policy

Making sense of the legalese

  Operationalization - What next

  KSL Policy

  Harmonization

  ECD programs – Education

  KSL Research and Documentation

  Interpreter Training Program

  Labor 5% rule

  Next generation

  Revitalize membership for KNAD

  Voice within the larger disability movement

Ishaara Project

  Technical Working Group within KNAD to champion

  Kenyan Sign Language Research, Training and Documentation,

  Interpreter Training and Certification

  Remuneration Standardization for interpreters

  Ethics Committee and Conflict Resolution

  Technical Interpreters Forum

  Interpreter Registry for the Deaf in Kenya IRDK

Why a TWG?

  Professional and Technical approach

  Morphing into a project becomes easy

  Resource mobilization is easier

  Credibility and usefulness – membership organizations do not succeed due to priorities of the membership, agenda by those in leadership and lack of governance structures to sustain the gains; transitions decimates the gains

  Engaging with other professionals is easier and fast tracked

  Volunteerism is difficult to sustain

  Model for change making and agitation

So what is Ishaara Project

  Volunteers to work on behalf of KNAD on issues of language and interpretation

  As the name suggests – Sign embodies the whole issue of language in the Deaf community

  It is not a company or an NGO it is a project within KNAD

  It is a Technical Working Group

Deliverables of Ishaara Project

  Functioning TWG initial 2 years

  Establishment of a permanent Commissions/Committees on KSL, Interpretation, Deaf Education, Deaf Culture within Government and Academia

  Establishment of a team of Deaf and Hearing professional researchers

  Establishment of a training program in universities or a Deaf Institute

  Establishment and maintenance of registry of interpreters

  Establishment of a conflict resolution mechanism for interpretation services

  Social outshoot – Deaf Clubs of Kenya

  Regional exchange and learning platform

Financing for Ishaara Project

  

  Department of Culture/Heritage

  County governments

  Training Program

  Research and consultancies

  Merchandise

  Local donors

  International partnerships

Challenges and Solutions

  Resistance from already existing mechanisms

  Lack of quorum to establish TWG

  Financial hardship

  Slow start up

  Use gatekeepers

  Business model for recruitment and fundraising

  Manage expectations at KNAD, Deaf Community level

  Use already existing mechanisms

Why should you Support Ishaara Project?

  Posterity’s sake – future generation

  One Million Deaf Kenyans – their families, friends, potential employers, inclusion and making Kenya a better place

  You are part of making history – history in the making

  Create opportunities for yourself, for others

  Contribute your skills, talents, passion for a worthy cause

  5% rule and CIC processes

  Voice in the larger disability movement

  Strengthening KNAD