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Interview

"Deaf People Around the World are like One Family"

Eight years ago, Simeon Ogolla opened a newspaper in Kenya, a country in East Africa, and read about deaf students in the United States. To Ogolla's surprise, the American deaf students were protesting; they wanted a deaf president of their university. Deaf since he was 10 years old, Ogolla, a former president of the Kenya Association of the Deaf who was working for a pesticide company, had never heard of the university--Gallaudet University, in Washington, D.C. But he decided immediately to go there. He wanted to fullfill his lifelong dream of getting a college education and live in a country "where deaf people have power." Now he is a senior at Gallaudet University, planning to enter graduate school, and, eventually, take some of that power back to Kenya. Here is an interview with Ogolla:

WAY: Tell us about your work and home in Kenya.
Ogolla: I was born in Siaya, a small town surrounded by farms. Many people leave Siaya to find work and I found a job in Nakuru, the fourth largest city in Kenya.

WAY: Was your father a farmer?
Ogolla: No he was a teacher--that's why he insisted that I get a good education.

WAY: Do you know many other deaf people in Kenya?
Ogolla: Of course. I am the youngest boy in a family of nine children. I have one deaf brother and one deaf sister. Plus I served as President of the Kenya National Association of the Deaf and worked to help deaf people get jobs.

WAY: How did you get involved with the Kenya NAD?
Ogolla: I was among the people who set it up! There were 22 local associations of the deaf and deaf clubs in Kenya and we needed one overall organization. We succeeded in setting it up in 1986.

WAY: What was your first priority?
Ogolla: Getting a law that permitted deaf people to drive. Until 1986, deaf people were not allowed to drive in Kenya. Changing that law was our first priority.

WAY: How did you change the law?
Ogolla: We explained to government officials that deaf people could indeed drive cars. Then we invited them to ride with some deaf Swedish individuals who were in Kenya. We said "hey, they drive! Why can't we?!" After they experienced a ride with deaf drivers, the Kenyan officials realized that of course deaf can drive and they changed the law.

WAY: Did the Swedish deaf people laugh at the Kenyan government for the stupid old law?
Ogolla: Oh no, they just helped us change it! They were wonderful support for us. Deaf people around the world are like one family. Nationality is not important.

WAY: What are other priorities for deaf people in Kenya?
Ogolla: We want to make deaf people and sign language accepted by hearing people. Now people are ashamed to sign in public. We want to change that. In 1992, we published the first Kenyan Sign Language Dictionary.

WAY: What are some of the ways that Kenya and the United States are different?
Ogolla: In Kenya, we show respect for each other. In the U.S., there is much less respect--especially in use of language. People say awful things here and very loudly, too. There are other differences, as well. People hug to say hi. Girls wear short clothing...

WAY: What are your goals now?
Ogolla: I want to bring my experience here to Kenya. I want to help deaf people achieve equally with hearing people in my own country.

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