Stories
SIL’s First DeafBlind Workshop
Imagine you are Deaf. Your whole world is focused on seeing. Your eyes are the way you learn language. Now imagine that you are told you are going blind and imagine the fear that arises as you realize you’ll be losing your way of communicating. Hearing children can learn language by listening; Deaf and DeafBlind children with some vision learn by sight, but DeafBlind children learn best by touch.
Tanzanian Sign Language Textbook Project
BILAT is a Deaf organization in Tanzania. In the last several years they have taken a special interest in Deaf children by providing help for Deaf school children who often start school with no language or very limited language skills. In school, they encounter two new languages, Tanzanian Sign Language and Swahili. Because Tanzanian Sign Language is a visual language, the children learn it much more quickly than Swahili which is based on sounds. Unfortunately, all of the text books are in Swahili—until recently.
Building Awareness Against Human Trafficking
Deaf students in Latin America gathered for a book presentation at their local school. The story was new to them and frightening. It told of a young Deaf woman, drugged, kidnapped and abused. Tragically, this story was true and gave a name to this type of criminal activity—human trafficking.
From Isolation to Inspiration
Try as he might, Guillermo could not connect with his family. Born deaf, Guillermo watched his hearing family talk and laugh around him, but he was unable to participate. His inability to join in communication with his family left him feeling excluded and lonely. Community is a difficult thing to establish without a shared language, and Deaf children often find themselves isolated with no one to explain the things going on around them. Guillermo had no one to help him understand the things he saw in family interactions, on TV or in other aspects of life.
Ready to Receive
After more than four decades of work, translators recently crossed the finish line as the first full translation of the Bible in American Sign Language (ASL) became available. This incredible milestone is especially important because it is also the first complete Bible available in any sign language. The publication of a full set of Scripture in the language they use everyday represents a long held prayer finally answered for about 3 million Deaf Christians in the U.S. alone. In fact, ASL is one of hundreds of sign languages used worldwide, and more than 90% lack any Bible translation at all for people of faith to use.
Signing Hope, Seeing Change
Until recently, few Deaf children participated in Tanzanian church services. Inspired by this observation, BILAT—a Deaf NGO committed to Bible translation, promoting sign language use and advocating for Deaf people—set a goal in 2018 to develop child-friendly translations of biblical passages in Tanzanian Sign Language to bridge this church divide.
Older stories:
Modeling Teaching at a Deaf School
Sign Language for Deaf PNG Children
Gaining respect and recognition for the Deaf in Papua New Guinea