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Despite the bad weather conditions during April, the disabled community still craved health information. Long heavy rains had been major hindrance to efficient transport for both the clients and WiRED staff, but this did not stop the staff from reaching the clients with the Pack 'N Go computer.
The main office, CHIC-Nairobi, completed Pack 'N Go visits to three areas within Kiambu-Nairobi region. Kisumu YCC and Pandipieri CHICs also visited several disabled groups including groups for the deaf. They all got the same experience in handling the deaf.
In the room there was total silence and no one from outside could notice what was going on. But, indeed in the stiff silence, vital learning was still happening! If one walked into the room, one saw people miming skit rehearsals that were to be presented in a theater, or practical language of some sort. But later on, after looking at the expression on the clients' faces, one would realize that there was something more than a theater that was being engraved into the clients life which gave them power and hope to handle their problems.
The above happened in 3-day workshops for the deaf organized by Sahaya project - an organization that helps in uplifting the education standard of the Deaf persons in Kenya- held at Nairobi Ngong Hills Hotel and in Kisumu city. WiRED was invited to disseminate HIV/AIDS information within the sessions. In Nairobi there were 12 deaf clients, 3 female and 9 male. Only one of the facilitators — the interpreter — could hear and talk. All clients were primary care givers, between the ages of 26 and 31 years. In the Kisumu workshop, there were 60 clients, 30 male and 30 female. 57 were deaf, 1 was deaf and lame, and only 2 could hear and talk. Among the clients, 15 were primary care givers between the ages of 24 and29 years, 43 students between 12 and 21 years of age, a driver and a social worker ages 31 and 32 years respectively.
All the workshops presented very interesting sessions on health information. Everything was in demonstrations, signs and gestures. A client could drop a computer mouse and fail to notice unless he/she saw it drop. Often the mouse remained on the floor until he saw it. Audio information became meaningless for once! Unless you keenly watched all movements you missed the point. It was so interesting because many clients had a lot to ask about HIV/AIDS and one of them would start asking questions without noticing that another one at the back had also started gesturing his question.
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