Imagine yourself as a small child born deaf to poor parents in Upper Egypt. They can’t understand why you don’t speak. You have no idea what communication really is. You make sounds you don’t hear. Your parents consider themselves cursed in some way and the shame of it all means they hide you away. As you get older, they tie you to your bed during the day. They refuse to accept that they have a daughter.
This is not fiction. 7 million people in Egypt are deaf, and many of them do live in Upper Egypt, and the girl in question was eventually freed. The way the situation developed is not really the parents’ fault. In a sense everyone involved is a victim of ignorance and lack of resources.
The Anglican Church in Egypt has led the way in trying to resolve things. It opened the first school for deaf children, in Cairo, and it pioneered work with parents and family to help everyone cope. The deaf project there, in the grounds of the Church of Jesus Christ, Light of the World, has employed the first deaf priest in the Diocese, and the school now also offers training for teachers. It has literacy classes for all ages, and vocational facilities to help people into work.
A new Diocesan scheme represents a further step forward. “Digital Church” is now creating a wider community and providing people who have previously been ignored, with resources to help them connect with the Christian faith. A website is due to be launched called “BySign,” which will offer Biblical and children’s resources for each day of the year.
The basic resource will be the first ever signed version of the Gospel of Mark in Arabic. The idea was the brainchild of the Director of Media for the Diocese, Moheb Naeem, and has been enthusiastically supported by Archbishop Samy, and the Diocesan Education sector led by his wife, Madeline. A group was brought together, to be filmed signing the Gospel at the Diocese’s own recording studio and media Centre in Cairo. They now have material available for every day until the end of the year. John, the editor responsible, is the hearing child of deaf parents and so he understands the kinds of problem families can encounter.
The plan, if funding can be found, is to translate more of the Bible and to see how technology can help develop the site to support the deaf community in an attractive and inclusive way.
For deaf people in Egypt, it was like living on an island. What we are trying to do is to build a bridge to that island.
Moheb Naeem