Mary View School for the Deaf

Friday June 21, 2013

-MaryView School for the Deaf

-MACOHA Weaving Factory

My counterpart Patricia is a wonderful teacher

         This is the day I have been waiting for this whole trip.  Today we visited the Mary View School for the Deaf.  As we pulled up to the school, I could see some kids sitting around signing to each other.  Just seeing the kids sign made me feel at home.   When they saw our van pull up, they pointed and signed “white people”.  Just like the hearing kids, the deaf kids noticed that first. We got out of the van and I went right over to the kids and started to sign. They we so hap ta signed and we had fun trying to understand each other.  They fingerspell using ASL and the majority of the sings they use are ASL.  They also use a mixture of British signs, Malawi signs, and gestures.  They signed some things differently like the letters “f”, “x”, and “t”.  Also, the days of the week and the numbers are different.  I was able to learn the signs for Malawi, Mangochi, and a few other towns in the area. 

         We sat with the principal of the Mary View School for the Deaf and the headmaster of the Montfort College (a school where special education teachers are trained.)  They talked about their program and I asked lots of questions.  I learned that their program has a lot of great things going.

1.     They have an early intervention program.

2.    They have an audiologist from Norway who tests the students and fits them for hearing aids.

3.    They have a small class size of 10 students per class and sit in semi-circle tables (We do that too J)

4.    They have a preschool program where students start at 4 or 5 and go to for 4 years. 

5.    Students then go through standard 1-8 and take an exam to go on to Secondary School.

6.    If students pass, they are able to go to Secondary School (but there is no interpreter there.  They have a special education teacher but in class they are on their own.

7.    Their program is residential with nuns taking care of the hostels.

I felt right at home in the deaf classroom

The teachers were warm and inviting, excited to show their lessons and how well the kids were doing.  I saw lots of charts on the walls and other visual aids to help the students (something we haven’t seen in the regular classrooms.)  The students (they call them learners) were all well behaved, attending and participating to the lessons.  There were a few things that they really need to work on and I hope to collaborate with the teachers to help in these areas.

Sister Lucy takes care of the students in the dorms

1.     They need to improve the signing skills (when I asked one teacher if he signed and he said, “only a little.”  I asked how the children learn to sign and he said, “It is natural.” 

2.    Students who go on to Secondary School do not have interpreters.  They must rely on lip reading to understand what is happening in class.

3.    They need more resources related to sign language!!!

Dyeing the yarn

We stayed at the school for the deaf for a lot longer than we were supposed to.  We were just enjoying the students and teachers so much we didn’t want to leave.  We finally said our goodbyes and went on to the MACOHA Weaving Factory.  This is a facility that employs special needs adults.  There, the people make yarn, dye fabrics, weave mats, embroider, and do screen-printing.  I was able to talk with some of the deaf adults there and they seemed to enjoy having a new friend to sign with.  It was great to see such talented people using looms, and spinning wheels, and making beautiful products. 

When we were having the tour of the screen-printing process, a man took us into the dark room where they use a strong light to transfer the image onto the screen.  He told us that they used to have sunglass to wear but they had broken so now they have nothing.  I was concerned about the constant exposure hurting their eyes so I offered my sunglasses.  The man graciously accepted the gift and wore the sunglasses for the rest of the tour.  I got a picture with him and he seemed very happy to have them.  To tell the truth, he looked better in them than I did. 

My new friend with his new sunglasses

This deaf man was very excited when I signed to him

In all, it was a great day.  We stopped for lunch at a shopping center in Blantyre.  This is an actual city with tall buildings and lots of cars.  Most people are dressed like Westerners but there are still a few people wearing traditional chitenjes and carrying large items on their heads.  We checked in to our hotel and enjoyed having our own hotel rooms for a change.