The Day That Was...

3rd December is behind us but the memories of left with me this time round shall last a lifetime.

I love watching Sign Language Interpreters at work so much so that I usually take videos of my back up man whenever he is doing his thing in my presence. As impressive as I find him to be; none has ever left me in awe like the little girl with DeafBlindness from Sense International that I happened to share the tent with.

Watching tactile Sign Language in action is an experience I shall never forget.
For those that don’t know, people with DeafBlindness communicate through touch and their language mimics Sign Language with the exception being the respondents or communicators touch the person with DeafBlindness to communicate with them.

Whenever the little girl received visitors that knew the language; I’d stop and watch them communicate for the sheer pleasure of it. Seeing the visitors with happiness written all over their faces while communicating with her made the experience unforgettable. I’ve been in company of a few people with DeafBlindness but none as adept at communication and expression like the little girl.

Sense International finally made its presence in Uganda visible and I believe that it being the wind beneath the empowerment of people with DeafBlindness, children and their parents, we shall learn a lot from people with DeafBlindness and communication between us wont be as stilted like before.

Just as I was marinating in everything I’d witnessed at the Sense International tent, there zoomed in to my line of vision an exuberant and excited man with the widest grin I’ve seen in a long while. Seeing his infectious smile made me smile in return as we made eye contact. I took all of him in searching for the reason for his happiness. It’s not until I saw the film wrapping clinging to the shiny metallic ring of his wheelchair that it made sense.

He had just received a new set of wheels aka wheelchair (probably his first because happiness and excitement radiated off him in waves!) He took off soon as the realisation dawned on me and I couldn’t be anymore excited for him because I know what it means to finally be mobile. To not have to depend on anyone when you have your own strength nor limit your journey or movement due to lack of assistive aides to help you get to your destination.

That health camp from the Ministry of Health Uganda really did a good job in availing Persons with Disabilities in Nakaseke with assistive devices. So many amputees walked off with artificial limbs while children with Disabilities most especially those with severe effects from epilepsy were given table aided wheelchairs to help their postures.

We take so much for granted sometimes that we forget how the littlest of things could mean to someone like communication and mobility. People with DeafBlindness are left isolated because of the lack of communication skills with the hearing and seeing world yet we all deserve the right to hear 👂🏽 and be heard regardless of the manners in which we choose to communicate.
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