DEAFBLINDNESS | CAREGIVERS | NADBU

Caregivers of deafblind persons across the country have received training in sign language interpretation to ease communication between them.

The training coordinated by the National Association of Deafblind persons (NADBU) was conducted with support from Sense international, Disability Rights Fund and Open Society for Eastern Africa (OCEA).

Speaking during the training at NADBU offices in Ntinda, the Executive Director (NADBU) Yonah Waswa observed that having a dual impairment is not something easy to deal with without communication.

The NADBU treasurer Agnes Abutiko on the left being taught how to communicate using tactile as a language..

“The campaign that we are running now is promoting tactile communication in communities for persons with deafblindness,” he said.

Tactile is the mode of communication used by deafblind persons.

“Being a language, the community needs to know about it so that they are able to communicate with the deafblind persons, that’s why we are targeting caregivers, instructors in schools with a target that they interact with the deafblind persons on a day-to-day basis.

This is a language that needs to be spoken by all service providers to enhance communication, our target is to conduct the training for the entire country but due to inadequate resource we are limited,” he explained.

He observed that people with deafblindness are categorised as the most marginalised because they are not even included in the activities of the disability movement due to lack of proper communication.

Tactile is the mode of communication used by deafblind persons.

“Even the mainstream Organisations find it very hard to include persons with deafblindness because of communication. I call upon everybody including government to support NADBU to demystify communication barrier between deafblind persons and the community,” Waswa appealed.

Referring to the suspension of DGF, Waswa said CSOs stand in where government has not been able to perform its obligations expressing concern that the closure will greatly affect the most marginalised.

“If such a bigger funder like DGF who could be interested in supporting the most marginalised categories of the population in this country can be suspended, then who will be there for them.

Our worry is the trickledown effect, people who are going to suffer most are the most marginalized populations like the deafblind. first of all, they are not represented in parliament neither in any government structures both mainstream and under persons with disability,” explained Waswa.

He said that most of these people are not educated or employed and languish in abject poverty but DGF wanted to lift such a population.

Agnes Abutiko the treasury NADBU said challenges associated with deafblindness are uncountable with missing information due to communication barriers being the greatest.

“People always fail to understand us yet we also fail to understand the community. I for one, if I don’t have the hearing aid, I cannot communicate and without a white cane, my movements are limited,” she said.

She added, “Deafblind persons are the poorest of the poor with certain limitations because they cannot even afford assistive devices like the hearing aid which costs between 4-7m. They are donor dependent and if not attached to any donor, they cannot afford any device.”