Kelvin, a Moja Tu alumnus, loves singing and is a good comedian. He has lived with hearing impairment since birth and is able to communicate fluently in sign language. He has high self-esteem and is very friendly. We recently caught up with him to find out how he is doing.
“My name is Kelvin Mwirigi. I am an alumnus of Moja Tu currently working at Dream Children’s Home. Having been deaf since birth, I struggle a lot to navigate through life. Luckily, I had a support system that offered a shoulder to lean on when times were tough.”
When Kelvin was accepted into the Moja Tu family, it made an incredible difference in his life. Moja Tu ensured that he received a quality education by enrolling him in special needs schools. Kelvin graduated from the Karen Institute of Technology for the deaf, where he studied mechanical engineering. Kelvin remarked, “To be honest, I never thought I would go past primary school, let alone college. By offering me this chance, Moja Tu gave me hope and made my wildest dreams come true.”
After completing his studies in college, Kelvin had difficulties finding a job, no matter what he tried. Many schools for the deaf are known and established, but society is still resistant to hiring and working with the deaf. Frustrated and desperate, he decided to work as a casual laborer in a quarry carving stones. Although he did the same amount of work as the able-bodied people in the quarry, his daily wage was considerably lower than others. “It made me sad and angry at the same time that not even a college education would secure me a decent job,” Kelvin said.
Through the assistance of a generous sponsor, Kelvin was able to secure a job at Dreams children’s home. “At Dreams, I work with understanding and friendly people who are always willing to interact with me. Instructions are given through writing and minor instructions through gestures. This has enabled me to work very efficiently and with a willing heart. I will be forever grateful to my sponsor for this opportunity.”
The language barrier continues to cause many deaf and hard-of-hearing people in Kenya to lose opportunities for which they are well qualified, simply because in the workplace, they assume no one would understand them, and they are considered a liability. The community, however, needs to be sensitized to this issue and learn to accept deaf people as part of the community and understand that they do not need to learn sign language to communicate with them.
Other alternatives, such as gestures and writing, have proven to be efficient communication tools. Kelvin works to educate the people around him to understand easy ways to communicate.