ABC Deaf Trade School

Near my home stay site, there is a placed called ABC Deaf Trade School (they actually just say ABC, and I added Deaf Trade School).  ABC stands for African Brotherhood Church.  ABC has been good to the Deaf folk by providing them with a building on their main campus east of Machakos for their Sunday worships, and this school for the Deaf adults learning trades for future life work.

There is about 12 students/residents at the school. they all are either too old for high school, or have already graduated.  A few of them never went to school at all. I have visited them several times and met with them when they played football (soccer) at a nearby field.  But today the entire group of trainees came to visit them formally as part of "socializing with the Deaf to be immersed into KSL and Deaf culture.  It was very beneficial for others, but for me, I feel I am already ahead of the game on that.

The school offers pretty much sewing and carpentry.  They also include ironing and "computing" but there is only 3 computers with only one working, and none of them are connected to the internet.

The building behind these folks are where the two classrooms are.

Sewing samples and the manual sewing machine (the one you operate with your feet rocking the platform).

Jamo, a Deaf deputy to the principal, manages the place.  He gave us a tour.

In the carpentry classroom, these two old yellowish posters are pretty much the only resources they got.

They make furniture such as the couch below, coffee table (below), and small furniture such as meal trays, stools, etc.  The teacher takes the furniture and sells them in the town, and uses the proceeds to purchase more wood and materials for the class.

This is where the residents live -- typical Kenyan "quarters" -- males are on the far right side, and females on this side.

Their kitchen, and if you look at a "window" opening on the left, is their dining room.  This Deaf lady comes in and cooks 3 meals a day for them M-F and just breakfast and lunch on Saturday.  The residents tend to themselves for dinner on Saturday and all meals on Sunday.

They tend to cages of rabbits, but they say they do not eat them, although Kenyans do elsewhere.

The students gave us a cute skit.

They were carrying a dead guy that passed away due to AIDS.

All Deaf students, their teachers, and of course me (pretty obvious -- must be my orange shirt -- or being a Mzungu (white foreigner)).