Safe Space for Nigerian Deaf Youths, Deaf Literacy

This project was designed to tackle a long-term challenge facing Deaf education in Nigeria, which is the absence of science subjects in many if not all the Schools for the Deaf in the country. Since 2014, we have documented 120 Deaf schools in Nigeria on our School Directory, many of which we have none of which we have visited ourselves, none of which offers science subjects to deaf students. This is largely blamed on the fact that there seems to be no signing teacher in the country trained to interpret science subjects, plus that the signed language variety used in the deaf schools does not incorporate scientific terms. As a result, deaf students are hardly given the opportunity to study STEM related courses, while those with such dream are highly discouraged.

As part of our ongoing efforts to promote Deaf literacy in Africa, and part of our program for the International Literacy Day 2018, we created the project, “Safe Space for Nigerian Deaf Youths, Deaf Literacy”. This project was designed to raise the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to provide science-based interpreting services for 20 deaf children and youth selected in Abuja and some other parts of Nigeria. The funds were supposed to be used to hire fluent deaf signers and signed language interpreters, who are science inclined, work with them to develop basic scientific signs for Deaf education, run free extramural classes for the 20 deaf students in senior secondary for up to six months and pay for the students' entrance exams to the University. The scientific terms would be documented as part of the indigenous signed language documentation project.

Unfortunately, funds raised for this project were hardly close to the targeted amount. With the sum of $390 raised, only one deaf student with science aspiration, was partly sponsored. The funds were used to purchase text and JAME preparatory books for the student and to hire a science inclined freelance Sign Language Interpreter for a period. Although the student is still preparing for the next University Matriculation Exam with the help of the purchase books, the project has been officially suspended for lack of funds. Note: this project will resume as soon as adequate fund is made available for it.