Now the deaf can ‘hear’ folklore stories

Patrick Musira

There is the classic image of grandmother telling folk tales by the fireside with the young and old listening, entranced while roasting groundnuts.

The image has now shifted to a modern yuppie parent reading bedtime stories to their child as a nightly ritual.

Folk tales are for everyone, right?

Not quite. For people with hearing disabilities, access has been practically impossible. That is the problem that Zimbabwe Deaf Media Trust CEO, Lovemore Chidemo set himself out to solve.

His big idea – translating local Zimbabwean folklore stories into sign language – has now become reality and Chidemo said the journey continues.

“The idea of translating our stories into sign language was mooted eight years ago at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe where theatre and performing spoken word guru Dr Ignatious Mabasa used to hold story-telling sessions on Saturdays for children,” Chidemo, who is hard of hearing himself, recounted.

“But there were no deaf children around in the audience,” he said.

“I engaged Dr Mabasa and we discussed the possibility of collaborating to translate some of our stories into sign language,” he said on Monday after the launch of the visual translation of Zimbabwean folklore stories into sign language.

“I had this idea that if a deaf child knew what was going on beside only through observation, that would get their story better and would probably have more fun,” he explained.

They worked with five deaf translators drawn from across the country - Beitbridge, Bulawayo, Harare, Mutare and Gweru – to cater for all cultural dialects in the country.

“We also included two illustrators,” he said.

“And it worked out. Information is generally not available in sign language, so even though we have a lot of information around in the form of newspapers, books and television, this is not accessible to deaf people who need it to be in sign language.”

He said research has shown that up to 90 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents “but the parents are usually not able to translate such information as they are not as proficient in sign language”.

“In our culture, people learn from oral communication, but the majority of deaf and hard of hearing experience difficulties in developing reading and this is because they cannot hear and distinguish the phonetic sounds system structures which is different from that of sign language,” explained Chidemo.

“So it is a big challenge for deaf children to access basic information that they need to navigate today’s society and life,” he said.

Deputy Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, Emily Jesaya, who attended the launch, agreed and shared the same sentiments, saying the arts are meant to be enjoyed and mean more than just recreation.

“Folklores are used to uphold our values and appreciation of our cultural and creative heritage,” she told the audience at the event.

“This project is a re-discovery of amazing talents in the creative sphere where we realise the deaf can deliver. As government, we’re very touched and we will continue to support and promote the rights of persons with disabilities.”

Founder and executive director of Deaf Woman Included, Agness Chindamba concurred.

“As an organisation, we welcomed this brilliant initiative that is inclusive and leaves no one and no place behind. We urge other creative to come on board.

“As persons with disabilities, we need to be pro-active in our different and diverse spaces because none but ourselves need to be seen to be doing something positive to deserve everyone’s support.”

DWI is a grassroots organisation that works with deaf women from across all provinces in Zimbabwe, and are involved in the translation project.

The European Union and Sweden through the Cultural Fund have promised to continue supporting the translation project.