School infrastructure for deaf children in Uganda

Deaf people in Uganda are often deprived of their rights, because of the negative attitude of many hearing people. Deaf people are called kasiru meaning a fool or stupid. They are often victims of injustices such as rape, torture, mob justice along with other tragedies. This barrier between the deaf and the hearing has existed for many years. The deaf in Uganda are often thought of as curses, sinners, a waste of a life, people without use and are outcasts in their communities.

Unfortunately, many Ugandans believe that educating a deaf child is a waste of money, time, and resources. Many families fear showing their deaf children in public, and as a result deaf children are often hidden in houses and suffer from isolation.

Only 2% of deaf children go to school as taking a deaf child to school is seen as a waste. There are only a few schools for the deaf in Uganda, and their payments are very high.

Sustain For Life have previously worked with Kisoro Demonstration School (KDS) who have approximately 100 deaf students. However KDS still lacks adequate boarding infra-structure facilities.   Through this project Sustain For Life will help improve infrastructure of the school to benefit the teachers and children with hearing impairments, other projects also work towards fee reduction to make education more accessible for deaf children from poor backgrounds.

Project Activities: 

• Construction of a two story dormitory separating boys and girls including showers and toilets
• Construction of a kitchen
• Construction of pit latrines and shower areas for the staff
• Renovation of existing buildings: repairing ceilings, flooring and adding a ramp to the four existing houses
• Installing 8 computer tables with safe cable housing to avoid accidents

Project Outcomes:

• Improved wellbeing at the school, of the children with special needs
• Improved accommodation for the children referred by Mutolere Hospital and other cases
• Reduced incidence of diseases caused by poor sanitation and personal hygiene
• More responsive parents and support staff especially that is responsible for special needs children
• Increased respect for rights of children with special needs

Beneficiaries: 240 deaf children and their parents will benefit in the first year with similar number or more in subsequent years.

Project Duration: 12 months

Take a look at Patrick’s story which highlights the importance of education and communication with the deaf. His smile says it all.