Using film to inspire deaf children

Joshua Musinguzi is one of five siblings, but he is the only one who is deaf among the children. In this short film, he plays a patient who struggles to communicate with the doctor until an interpreter arrives to assist.

What is special about this play is that deaf children took part in the production process from start to finish.

Musinguzi was in primary seven at Mulago School for the Deaf when he participated in the project.  Later, he enrolled on the Mbale School for the Deaf, where he is currently pursuing a vocational course.

“I learnt mostly about the doctor part, and I accept that it is all possible. I learned how to film, and the experience taught me that I am able to create something on my own,” Musinguzi narrates.

It is all part of the Inclusive Lifeworlds of Deaf Children project, completed after three years.

Alice Kinora

The collaborative research work was led by Alexandra Tomkins, a Visual Anthropology PhD candidate at the University of Manchester. She worked with deaf children from Mulago Primary School for the Deaf in Kampala, along with the Department Hearing Impairment and Sign Language Interpretation Studies at Kyambogo University. The exhibition Deaf Children’s Stories of Inclusion at Endiro in Nakasero runs from April 4 and ends on April 18. 

“The project advocates for the critical involvement of deaf children in shaping inclusive learning environments,” Tomkins explains, adding that “while Sign Language is an essential element in creating deaf-friendly classrooms, the project goes beyond language, exploring inclusion as an embodied experience that involves emotions, relationships, and interactions with the world around them.”

Musinguzi’s father, Godfrey Mukyebezi, is a proud man.

As the audience watches the film in Kampala, he is all smiles and looks confident about his son.

His trick for inclusion at home is to treat every child equally and expose them to equal opportunities.

Musinguzi's father Godfrey Mukyebezi.

“I have realised the potential of my deaf child. First of all, he is active and reaches out, like making friends. He is doing things even his siblings can’t do. And after the film project, I saw a big difference. During COVID-19 lockdown, when schools closed, I took him to a welding school, and he picked up well, and he can now make money for himself. During holidays, he does welding for an income,” Mukyebezi shares.

According to the 2024 Uganda national population and housing census, 2.5% of 46 million people have difficulty in hearing, and 0.2% about 91,000, are deaf.

Globally, the World Health Organisation estimates that over five percent of people are deaf, and 34 million are children.

Tomkins found that in Uganda, “the primary causes of deafness include preventable diseases such as malaria, meningitis, and untreated ear infections.”

Data shows that most deaf people live in countries where access to medical services is difficult and expensive.

Tomkin’s project puts emphasis on possibilities and not limitations, “it challenges the stereotype that deaf children are incapable.” 

The research, she explains, “involved working with children of different ages and linguistic abilities, adapting the approach to ensure that all children, regardless of their language development, could participate fully.”

Deaf Teacher Angella Nanteza  

Prossy Wanyana is the Deputy Headteacher of Mulago School for the Deaf and a qualified special needs teacher. She welcomes exploring how visual aids can be used to develop deaf-centred teaching and instruction, as they are typically visual learners.

“These so-called schools for the normal, yet they are not normal because they also have their own prevailing challenges; you need to create awareness. It is very important because in the long run, they will learn to accept deaf children or children with disabilities, and after acceptance, it will pave the way for inclusion practices,” Wanyana appeals

Angella Nanteza, is a deaf teacher and was an assistant workshop facilitator during the project.

She lost her hearing ability at the age of five, and doctors have never figured out why.

Over the years, it was a struggle for her to adapt, until her parents eventually enrolled her on a school for the deaf in Masaka.

She didn’t feel so much included then, but attributes this to lack of awareness and limited assistive technologies. 

“I have seen my life changing since I joined the school for the deaf. I have a lot of different experiences, making friends, and all these relationships also helped me get a job fast. This filming is sensitive, I am passionate about this project. If it has changed me, it will change others,” Nanteza pleads.

Film screening

And it is what experts are pushing for.

Dr. Sam Lutalo-Kiingi, one of Alexandra’s PhD supervisors and head of the Department of Hearing Impairment and Sign Language Interpretation Studies at Kyambogo University, is banking on sign language to build strong communities among young deaf people. He is calling on the government to invest in such technologies.

“As everyone is talking about inclusion in the country, how do we see inclusion practically? We have had a policy (special needs inclusion) that has been around since 2011 and only needs a signature to be gazetted so that it can be applied. So this research is very important and can help in development of the policy,” Lutalo-Kiingi appeals.

Throughout the workshops, three key themes were highlighted, including emotional literacy, which Tomkins explains, “covers exploring how deaf children, who are often born to hearing parents, can learn about emotions and social behaviours through drama,photography, and drawing. With 95% of deaf children born to hearing parents, this area of development is often overlooked, leading to gaps in emotional understanding.”

The second theme encompassed family life; the children were given the chance to draw depictions of home and go about their lives every day. “It also highlighted the importance of storytelling skills, which are often not naturally learned in deaf households, creating a gap in the development of narrative skills.”

Alexandra Tomkins Visual Anthropology PhD candidate University of Manchester.

In the final phase, as children shared their stories and aspirations through film, inclusion was highlighted as a theme. 

The two films produced taught the children about inclusion. “These films, created by the children themselves, reflect their real-life experiences and dreams, challenging societal stereotypes and emphasising the importance of allowing deaf children to define inclusion on their terms,” Tomkins clarifies.

Tomkins partnered with Davidson Mugume, one of the founders of Film Possible, to help the children with storyboarding, scripting, acting, filming and editing.

“Storytelling is a universal tool. We have shared stories for millennia. We have always passed on knowledge and share experiences,” Mugume explains.

Through this exhibition and film screening, their aim was to “showcase the creative talents and capacities of deaf children in Uganda, demonstrating their artistic expression, storytelling abilities, and visions for a more inclusive society,”Tomkins says

As Musinguzi said “I learned that I can ask someone who hears for help.”

The exhibition was the result of visual media workshops carried out between 2022 and 2024.

Pupils from Mama Allen Foundation at the exhibition.

Kinora Alice is in primary seven at Mulago School for the Deaf. She says “It was fun,” describing that it was fun drawing a portrait of a woman with long hair. “After this project, I feel like I can be a producer. Inclusion to me means we can do things together.”

Lule Franklin (whose sign name is around the eye), is also a candidate at Mulago School for the Deaf. He took part in different activities throughout the film project.

“The documentary will help to emphasise that children who are deaf can actually communicate through sign language. Inclusion within the story we produced means bringing different people together, the film demonstrated this possibility.”

Abee Steven was an intern during the project and took part in previous participatory projects led by Tomkins. First, he was in primary school in Jinja ten years ago and later in 2018, after joining Wakiso Secondary School for the Deaf. His perception of what inclusion means has strengthened.

“With inclusion, it really means that it is between the deaf person and the hearing community and awareness. In case there is no sign language interpreter in a market for example, when these two people are together, then these people won’t access what is in the market,” Abee shares.

Prossy Wanyana Deputy Headteacher Mulago School for the Deaf.

It is his transformation after interacting with film, photography and drawing that keeps Tomkins hopeful.

A key outcome of this research is that it has “provoked discussion among policymakers and curriculum developers about how to include deaf children in research about their lives, deaf curricula and the future of inclusive education.”

Sarah Bugoosi Kiboli, the commissioner - special needs and inclusive education at the Ministry of Education and Sports, applauded the project, making a call for strengthening inclusion.

Ayub Twalib is on the Uganda National Association of the Deaf board and the youth representative of the organisation.

Sarah Bugoosi Kiboli, the commissioner special needs and inclusive education Ministry of Education and Sports.

“This project will help solve the different challenges that we are facing, for example, in raising awareness. For example, parents are out there, but they don’t know where to get a school for their deaf children. And it can also mobilise the community to come together and solve challenges.”

Tomkins says she will continue with her research to better understand the lived experiences of deaf children and children with disabilities through film. 

These interviews were conducted with the help of sign language interpreters: Buyinza John, Ssenyomo Yusuf, Millie Margret Nambolanyi, and Jonan Opori.