Education Nigeria Project #33233

Promote Deaf Literacy in Nigeria

by Save the Deaf and Endangered Language Initiative

Project Report | Nov 20, 2019
Advocacy for Indigenous Nigerian Sign Language

By Emmanuel Ihechi Asonye | CEO/HOP Global

A Cross Section of the IDSL Lecture

Soon after the initial documentation of indigenous Nigerian Signed language variety from Magajingari Deaf Community, Kaduna North in 2018, part of our immediate concern was how to make the general public understand the importance of our work and to prepare their minds for its acceptance and adoption. This is because, the underlying purpose for the documentation of indigenous Nigerian signed language is to create language access to over 75% of deaf children across Nigeria, most of whom are born in hearing families, who lack access to signed language in the first five years of their lives. Consequently, the documentation of indigenous Nigerian signed language and the promotion of it for Deaf education should serve to the benefit of these deaf children and their families.

Across the world, the importance of raising children in their indigenous languages (signed or spoken) is being emphasized at all levels. In addition, various communities and countries seem to have emotional attitude toward raising their children in their indigenous language because it is their cultural identity. However, it is unfortunate that many people in Nigeria and perhaps some other countries, irrespective of their attachment to their own languages are not aware of the fact that indigenous signed language is the linguistic (and in fact, human) right of deaf children. With this in mind, it became important for us to seek to create this awareness while we continue to document and develop the indigenous signed language for Deaf literacy.

Consequently, we held a public online Summer training on African signed language linguistics in which 500 people registered and about 459 participants completed the 8weeks training. During that Summer class, a lot of examples were drawn from the documented indigenous Nigerian signed language from Magajingari Deaf Community and participants confessed to the fact that the information they received from the class about indigenous signed languages was new and an eye-opener. Furthermore, the participants in that training were in demand for more of such training and knowledge. As a result, a second online course on African signed linguistics and interpreting has been scheduled to kick off in January 2020.

In addition, another public lecture was organized in several cities in Nigeria in commemoration of the International Day of Signed Languages (IDSL) in which over 500 people were reached. The lecture targeted members of Nigerian Universities and staff and functionaries of the government ministries. This is because, deaf children in school are under the Ministry of Education, while people with disabilities in general are under the care of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development. Several individuals from the various cities signed up to volunteer with S-DELI during that lecture.

We hope to intensify advocacy and create more awareness to the public about indigenous African signed languages as we continue to document. We hope to have more public lectures in the year 2020 targeting different groups of people. We also hope to begin the process of producing pedagogical materials for deaf students from the documented language elements. All these require funding, which we continue to seek.

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Jun 24, 2019
Progress Report: The Impacts we are Making

By Emmanuel Asonye | CEO/Head of Project, Global

As we continue in our efforts towards promoting Deaf literacy through the Indigenous Nigerian Sign Language, we adopt a multidisciplinary approach in promoting the Indigenous Sign Language among deaf and hearing individuals in Nigerian Deaf Community. One of those approaches is signing a memorandum of understanding with the Nigerian National Association of the Deaf [NNAD] as we reported in our previous report. Following the signing of MoU with NNAD, a Steering Committee was set up to oversee issues regarding subsequent documentations and the continued promotion of the indigenous Sign Language. Deaf members of the Steering Committee are currently receiving training on the Principles and Practices of Sign Language Linguistics and Sign Language Documentation with reference to Nigerian Sign Language.

As that is going on, we are laying the ground work for the launching of the hardware and online pedagogical materials on Indigenous Nigerian Sign Language [INSL]. In addition, we are identifying with some Deaf related grassroot groups such as Friends of the Deaf Foundation, Deaf Girl Child Initiative, etc., plus the parents’ groups, to launch awareness about INSL and need to promote Deaf literacy through it. We believe that all these groups will play strong roles in conjunction with NNAD in spreading the word. At the same time, S-DELI documentation team is negotiating for other possible communities to be documented while we currently process the signed language videos from the first outreach for online uploading, we are set to sensitize the members of NNAD on the new formed relationship for a great synergy.

Once more, we emphasize that we are grateful for the supports we have got so far from our community of supporters both home and abroad, without which we would never get to where we are today. We acknowledge the fact that funding is key to every step of our project and so we are equally hopeful for more, because we may not get to the next stage of achievement without adequate financial supports and we may not succeed in creating language access to numerous deaf children in the rural communities in Nigeria, who are locked up in their world of limited communication and little hope for a brighter future. That is why this work is important to us. We pledge to not let down the investments we and all our supporters have made so far and the hope we have kindled so far in the lives of many deaf individuals through the little we have done. We as a team are ready to use and maximize whatever little resources we get to ensure that the job is done. As little funding continues to trickle in, we hope to apply new strategies as participate in any forthcoming fund raise opportunities.

Links:

Documentation of Indigenous Nigerian Sign Language Page

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Mar 13, 2019
Progress Report: Advocacy

By Emmanuel Ihechi Asonye | CEO/HOP, Global

It’s been six months since we carried out the first stage of the Indigenous Nigerian Sign Language Documentation Project (INSLDP) which took place in Abuja and Magajingari Community, Kaduna North, Nigeria, during which time about 1000 indigenous lexical signs, expressions and short stories were collected. The signs collected are but a small portion of the communicative expressions of the indigenes of the Deaf community, meant to serve as a sample for subsequent documentations, while this initial exercise is meant to form a roadmap for subsequent documentations.

The next stage to the entire documentation of Indigenous Nigerian Sign Language Project is production of online and offline pedagogic materials of the language, while additional documentation exercises should go on in different Deaf communities, and this is equally a capital-intensive stage of the project, as it involves advocacy and intensive awareness campaigns in both Deaf and Hearing communities. This is where we are now. Despite the fact that we are yet to raise adequate funds to carry out the needed advocacy and awareness, we continue to carry on with some grassroot advocacy, including constant promotion the Indigenous Nigerian Sign Language (INSL) on social media and otherwise.

January 2019, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigerian National Association of the Deaf (NNAD), which is a very important piece of our advocacy. The national association of the Deaf will play a great role in pushing for legislature and advocating for the adoption of the pedagogic materials of the documented Indigenous Sign Language for use in the Schools for the Deaf across the country and in the families of rural communities. While we currently process the signed language videos from the first outreach for online uploading, we are set to sensitize the members of NNAD on the new formed relationship for a great synergy.

We are profoundly grateful for the supports we have got so far from our community of supporters both home and abroad, without which we would never get to where we are today. We are equally hopeful for more, because we may not get to the next stage of achievement without your supports and we may not succeed in creating language access to numerous deaf children in the rural communities in Nigeria, who are locked up in their world of limited communication and little hope for a brighter future. That is why this work is important to us. We pledge to not let down the investments we and all our supporters have made so far and the hope we have kindled so far in the lives of many deaf individuals through the little we have done. We as a team are ready to use and maximize whatever little resources we get to ensure that the job is done.

Links:

Documentation of Indigenous Nigerian Sign Language Page

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