School is life for Pakistan's deaf children

LAHORE, Pakistan — At a school for the deaf in Pakistan, the faces of students are animated, their smiles mischievous, as their hands twirl in tandem with their sign language teacher.

The quiet classes exude joy, led often by teachers who are also deaf.

"I have friends, I communicate with them, joke with them, we share our stories with each other about what we have done and not done, we support each other," said Qurat-ul-Ain, an 18-year-old deaf woman who joined the school a year ago.

More than 200 students, children and adults, mostly from disadvantaged backgrounds, are among the few given a new lease of life at this school in Lahore.

Of more than 1 million deaf school-age children in Pakistan, less than 5 percent go to school.

The figure is even lower for girls and, without a language to express themselves, many children are marginalized by society and even their families.

"Life is a little difficult," Qurat-ul-Ain said. "There is a huge communication gap here where people generally don't know sign language."

At the school run by charity Deaf Reach, students learn sign language in English and Urdu before progressing on to the national curriculum.

Everyone has a name in sign language, which often has to do with a physical characteristic.

Younger children learn with visuals: a word and a sign are associated with an image.

Their peers turn their thumbs down for a wrong answer and make the applause sign — twisting hands — for a correct one.

Founded in 1998 and funded with donations, Deaf Reach has eight schools across the country, educating 2,000 students on a "pay-what-you-can-afford" basis, with 98 percent of children on scholarships.

The vast majority of students at the school come from hearing families, who are also offered the chance to learn how to break the language barrier with their son or daughter.

Adeela Ejaz explained how she struggled to come to terms with her firstborn son — now 10 years old — being deaf.

"When I couldn't understand what he was trying to say, he would bang his head against the wall and floor," the 35-year-old said.

"It was tough for everyone because no one knew how to communicate with him. Everyone would tell us he is deaf but I wasn't prepared to accept that."

The mother and son pair are now both learning sign language.

"I am getting better at signing and I am able to communicate with my son. He's now become so attached to me."

The program makes extensive use of technology, and offers an online dictionary and a cellphone app.

It has also found employment for more than 2,000 deaf people with about 50 Pakistani companies.

Huzaifa, 26, who became deaf after contracting a fever at a young age, was given a stitching apprenticeship at Deaf Reach to help him enter the skilled workforce.

"Teachers in the government school didn't know any sign language," he said. "They would just write notes on the board and tell us to copy it. We used to get really disheartened, and I would be extremely worried for my future."

His family pushed for him to become educated, helping him to learn the basics of sign language before he received formal coaching.

Continuing education

"My parents never threw me away. They spared no effort in ensuring I was able to continue my education," he said.

Without their dedication, "I'd be working as a day laborer somewhere, cutting leaves or cementing walls", he said.

Sign language varies from one country to another, with its own associated culture, and regional variations sometimes exist.

According to the World Federation of the Deaf, 80 percent of the 70 million deaf people in the world have no access to education.

"I used to sit idly at home, use the mobile or play outside," said Faizan, 21, who has been at Deaf Reach for 11 years and dreams of working abroad. "I never had a clue about what people were saying."

Before learning sign language, "I used to feel very weak mentally and had an inferiority complex and fear", he said. "But thankfully there is none of that anymore."

Attitudes toward people with disabilities are slowly improving in Pakistan, which has introduced laws against discrimination.

"We have seen over the years the mentality change tremendously," said Daniel Marc Lanthier, director of operations of the foundation behind Deaf Reach. Many people were "hiding their deaf children, feeling embarrassed, ashamed", he said.

Nowadays, families are "coming out in the open, asking for education for their children, asking to find employment for them", he said.

"With a million deaf children who don't have access to school, it's a huge challenge, it's a huge goal to be met."

Agencies Via Xinhua