On Being Deaf...

STOP, be still, listen, really listen! What do you hear? What are the sounds that make up your world? Now imagine if you can that someone has flipped a switch, your hearing is gone. You’re world is now silent. All around you there is motion/commotion but you can’t make sense of it.

Such is life for our village Deaf, those children who were born hearing but because of an illness can no longer hear. Depending on their age at the time of their illness and the extent of their loss some of the children may hear some, they may be able to understand language, to speak and read lips. Some may have returned to school where they struggle to keep up. Village schools are poor, often overcrowded. There are no special considerations for those with learning challenges you either keep up or fall behind and drop out.

…and then there are the other Deaf, those born into a silent world, those who have never heard the song of a bird or the voice of their mother. They have no understanding of language, no way to express themselves. These children are often viewed as stupid, incapable of learning, perhaps even as cursed or a curse. They are not given the opportunity to attend school so they stay home, shut away from everyone and everything. They live in a lonely, silent world devoid of human contact and interaction able to understand and express only the most basic ideas through gestures and crude home signs.

The good news is there is hope. The SNH staff is made up of a group of amazing individuals who know what it’s like to grow up Deaf in Uganda, individuals who have found a way to work through the challenges deafness presents to become successful. They stand ready to mentor the children, to educate the families and spread awareness of the abilities of the Deaf throughout the community but they can’t do it alone. They need our help!

Sponsoring a Deaf child will give SNH staff the resources they need to address the individual needs of the Deaf enrolled in their program. That help might come in the form of school fees, uniform, textbooks in the village school or credit toward fees at a boarding school for the Deaf. It might be used to offset the cost of instruction in Ugandan sign language, medical intervention, hearing testing or possibly hearing aids.

The gift of sponsorship will open doors for the Deaf child. It will give him or her the chance to develop their God given potential and will show them that they matter, their life has meaning.

We would like to encourage you to watch this video about Patrick, a Deaf child in Uganda. Although this video is not documenting SNH ministry, it is such an encouraging video and gives an idea of how SNH will be able to help their Deaf students through your support! Also, SNH is working on plans to begin a sign class for our Deaf children! We will be posting more about this exciting news in the coming months.


The children pictured on this page are all Deaf children who are available for sponsorship through SNH. Sponsorship is $40 a month and can be paid via Western Union. You can see the waiting children here and please email sherinahnewhope(at)gmail.com with any questions!

About Holly Caulfield…Holly is a long time special education teacher, has been a child sponsor for most of her life and has helped run nonprofits/child sponsorship programs for over ten years. In addition to enjoying traveling, meeting new people and learning about other cultures, Holly enjoys reading, writing and spending time with friends.