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I work with deafblind children in Kenya. Any questions for me? I work with deafblind children in Kenya. Any questions for me?
(about 11 hours later)
Edwin Osundwa is a passionate advocate for disabled rights in development. He is working with the Kenyan government to develop a curriculum for deafblind children. Edwin is visually impaired, giving him firsthand experience of the challenges children can face.Edwin Osundwa is a passionate advocate for disabled rights in development. He is working with the Kenyan government to develop a curriculum for deafblind children. Edwin is visually impaired, giving him firsthand experience of the challenges children can face.
Edwin will be online on Wednesday from 1pm-2.30pm GMT to answer your questions about his day job and the place of disability within development. What would you like to know? Post your questions in the comment thread below.Edwin will be online on Wednesday from 1pm-2.30pm GMT to answer your questions about his day job and the place of disability within development. What would you like to know? Post your questions in the comment thread below.
What’s a typical day for you?
I start my day at 6am by catching up with the news. I work with the Kenyan department for education, so it is important that I’m up to date. I arrive at work at 8:30am where my first task is to read and respond to emails. From mid-morning, I handle all meetings, with government officials, parents or teachers. After lunch, I work on reports, strategies and campaign briefs. We are currently campaigning for the government of Kenya to immunise against rubella, which causes thousands of children to be born deafblind if their mothers catch it during pregnancy.		What’s a typical day for you?
I start my day at 6am by catching up with the news. I work with the Kenyan department for education, so it is important that I’m up to date. I arrive at work at 8:30am where my first task is to read and respond to emails. From mid-morning, I handle all meetings, with government officials, parents or teachers. After lunch, I work on reports, strategies and campaign briefs. We are currently campaigning for the government of Kenya to immunise against rubella, which causes thousands of children to be born deafblind if their mothers catch it during pregnancy.
Before the day is out I might meet with groups such as The Kenya Parents of Deafblind People Organisation. We supported families to set up this group, which has 345 members and spearheaded a campaign for the recognition of deafblind children’s education. I am also studying for a master’s degree in development management.Before the day is out I might meet with groups such as The Kenya Parents of Deafblind People Organisation. We supported families to set up this group, which has 345 members and spearheaded a campaign for the recognition of deafblind children’s education. I am also studying for a master’s degree in development management.
What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
Every deafblind person that we support is different and meeting their needs can is a challenge. Being deafblind is not an absolute, some people have some sight or some hearing; others have none at all. Some people are born deafblind as a result of congenital rubella or birth complications, others lose their sight and hearing as result of accident or illness. Our programmes have to cater to this huge range.		What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
Every deafblind person that we support is different and meeting their needs can is a challenge. Being deafblind is not an absolute, some people have some sight or some hearing; others have none at all. Some people are born deafblind as a result of congenital rubella or birth complications, others lose their sight and hearing as result of accident or illness. Our programmes have to cater to this huge range.
How does your visual impairment affect you at work?
It can be difficult when partners I’m working with aren’t aware of my visual impairment so don’t present information in an accessible way. Understanding how someone interprets a written document if they can’t see it is a real skill. However, it does give me firsthand experience of the challenges disabled people can face and the support the visually impaired or deafblind children might need.		How does your visual impairment affect you at work?
It can be difficult when partners I’m working with aren’t aware of my visual impairment so don’t present information in an accessible way. Understanding how someone interprets a written document if they can’t see it is a real skill. However, it does give me firsthand experience of the challenges disabled people can face and the support the visually impaired or deafblind children might need.
Campaigners have said disabled people are being ignored by global development targets. Do you agree?
There are 1 billion disabled people in the world and 80% live in developing countries. Disabled people also tend to be some of the poorest and least socially mobile. They need specialist support. Yet DfID currently has no dedicated policy for people with disabilities and millennium development goals don’t mention it at all.		Campaigners have said disabled people are being ignored by global development targets. Do you agree?
There are 1 billion disabled people in the world and 80% live in developing countries. Disabled people also tend to be some of the poorest and least socially mobile. They need specialist support. Yet DfID currently has no dedicated policy for people with disabilities and millennium development goals don’t mention it at all.
But things are changing. I gave evidence in the first international development select committee inquiry into disability and we are working to secure a place for disability in the future development goals. I am hopeful for a future where all disabled people will have the opportunity to benefit from international development.But things are changing. I gave evidence in the first international development select committee inquiry into disability and we are working to secure a place for disability in the future development goals. I am hopeful for a future where all disabled people will have the opportunity to benefit from international development.
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What type of educational work do you provide for deaf-blind children? How do you teach children the fundaments of life, when they lack two of the primary human senses?
This is a good question, and one parents of deafblind children often grapple with. How do you communicate with someone who is deafblind? It varies greatly for person to person but here are a few ways:
Where a child has no communication, they might be helped to learn some simple hand signs at first (for 'food’ for example)
They might also learn to use an 'object of reference’ to communicate. For example, if they hold out a mug this means that they want a drink
The people around the deafblind child can learn, though observation, to understand their body language and what they seem to want to communicate
Some people may be able to learn a more advanced form of sign language. In Bangladesh for example, people have been learning Bangla sign language, which is an adaption of the country’s sign language for deaf and deafblind people.
Those that have residual vision can learn ordinary sign language.
Technology also has the potential to help people communicate. For example, someone who has learned to read Braille can access the internet via a Braille keyboard
Recently in Kenya we have established a deafblind curriculum to help ensure that what is being taught in schools meets a certain standard and is uniform. You can read about it here: http://www.http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2013/aug/05/deafblind-school-curriculum-kenya-global-development
What is the biggest challenge that children who are deafblind face in Kenya?
Are you doing any work on educating the children on thier rights?
What model are you using for education - are children integrated into mainstream schools or are they based in seperate units/schools?
The biggest challenge for deafblind children is probably stigma and a lack of understanding of deafblindness. In addition, a lack of specialist services is also a huge challenge.
One of the ways we educate children on their rights is through their parents. We work closely with parent groups to ensure that they understand, uphold and promote the rights of their children within their local community.
We are providing home based education for children that are unable to attend school and there are 10 specialist deafblind units across the country.
However, we are due to embark on a community based education programme where more deafblind children will receive education through a nearby mainstream primary school. This we believe will enable more children access education.
Certainly the less severely deafblind people interact and connect well with the deaf community. Given the visual nature of sign language those who have less vision struggle to interact with sign language.
Some of the deafblind children we support attend specialist units in deaf schools and this provides the opportunity for further interaction.
As in the UK, in Kenya we have a strong deaf community and this can be a real asset to some deafblind children who are able to engage.
One of the biggest prejudices that many people seem to have about disabled people is that supporting and empowering them to lead productive lives is far too hard and far too expensive, particularly in the developing world. My limited research shows that this simply isn't true, and that while some interventions for disability can require a lot of resources, many are very cheap and yet transform people's lives immeasurably for the better. Can you give some examples of this from your experience?
Completely agree with your points on this.
One example is Daniel, a man who lost is sight and hearing as an adult (you can read about his story here: http://www.http://www.senseinternational.org.uk/case-study/daniels-story-0) who we recently supported. With training in vocational skills Daniel was able to become independent, begin to earn money and this has had a dramatic impact on the future prospects of him and his family.
The link between disability and poverty is strong and it affects whole families and communities not just individuals. The benefits of supporting deafblind and disabled people will be experienced by all of the people in their lives and in this way it is hugely cost effective and beneficial for society.
If development doesn't work for the most marginalised people in society then it doesn't meet it's objective of bringing people out of poverty.
The inquiry that you gave evidence to is about how the UK Department for International Development includes disabled people. What is your experience with DFID in Kenya? What would be the one best thing that they could do to be more inclusive?
I have had the opportunity to learn about the work that DFID is doing with VSO on data collection on disability. However, given the place of DFID as a world leader in international development there is more that can be done to address disability issues in Kenya.
In my evidence at the inquiry, I alluded to how DFID could integrate disability into it's support of free primary education in Kenya. In Kenya primary education became free for all children in 2003 but it does not equate as being free for deafblind children as there are only 10 specialist schools and as a result the associated costs still remain.
The one best thing that DFID could do to be more inclusive is to mainstream disability in to all of its policies and programmes. We need to do this at all levels in DFID, not just at the top but at every level and including those working in the field.
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