The World Federation of the Deaf (WFC) first launched International Day of the Deaf in September 1958; this “day†later turned into a “celebration week†and is observed annually as a commemoration of this historical event. 1989 was the first active year for the Rwanda National Union of the Deaf (RNUD) and since then an increasing number of families of Deaf people, sign language interpreters, professionals who work with Deaf people and government officials have become aware of RNUD’s advocacy efforts. International Deaf Awareness Week provides a great opportunity for RNUD to highlight its achievements and the rights of Deaf people to politicians, authorities, and the general public.
This year’s theme was “Sign language is a mandatory human right†with celebrations and many interesting workshops happening throughout the week in Kigali. However, the most exciting and recent piece of news coming out of the RNUD’s ambitious agenda was no doubt their announcement of a partnership with NCPD, VSO and Handicap International on the development of a curriculum for Rwanda Sign Language (RSL). The plan is for sign language teaching to be implemented as a trial project at targeted primary schools in the two districts of Kamonyi and Rubavu.
Results from the ambitious trial project will be submitted to MINEDUC in 2015 for full approval. In parallel there is a positive momentum to have Rwanda Sign Language approved as a national language alongside Kinyarwanda and English. The issue in Rwanda today is that the vast majority of deaf children do not currently receive access to quality education although this is clearly set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD) and UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
Progress is also being made in developing a Rwandan Sign Language dictionary which will reinforce the application of a uniform sign language across the country.
In 2012, RNUD collaborated in a project to produce a documentary titled “A world without sound†that explores and identifies challenges and needs of Deaf communities in Rwanda with particular regard to access to quality education. This movie will serve as a valuable tool for RNUD’s advocacy efforts and RNUD will be happy to provide public/private screenings of this informative documentary.
The NCPD team were delighted to receive an invitation to observe the marching and closing celebration of the Deaf Awareness Week on Friday 27 September.
Reported by
Mrs Kirsty BUXBOM & Mrs Nyirabugenimana Sylvie
Event Participants/NCPD