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India: The Miracle of Sound and Vision

by Major Seth Le Leu

The Himalayas form a spectacular backdrop to The Salvation Army's work in Darjeeling

Manun (left) teaches deaf Arita to say her name for the first time

Boys from the Mary Scott Home for the Blind in Kalimpong

Boys from the Mary Scott Home for the Blind in Kalimpong

Teaching sign language at the school for the deaf

The fife and drum band at the school for the blind

Signing classes are also given for relatives of deaf children

The miracle happened in such a matter-of-fact way. Manun went to Arita, placed Arita’s hand against her throat and slowly said the first syllable of Arita’s name: ‘Aaah ...’ Arita hesitated and then, trying
to copy what she had just felt, a screeching but recognisable ‘Ah!’ came out of her mouth. Manun continued: ‘Ree ...’ Arita tried and again the sound was recognisable. ‘Tah ...’ required Arita to feel the breath coming out of Manun’s mouth in that explosive syllable. Now Manun put the sounds together: Ah-ree-tah. Arita hesitated then repeated the word.

It took a while but I had just witnessed a 16-year-old deaf girl saying her name for the first time. I felt a sense of awe at this commonplace miracle.

The sound was understandably rough but Arita was taking the first step out of the seclusion of the deaf world into a world of new communication.

Later that afternoon I watched two deaf students teaching signing to deaf young people. The speed they were doing it seemed – to this amateur – very fast. But the deaf know how to communicate with the deaf far better than I do and the lesson proceeded amazingly well.

The background to this encounter was a simple outreach programme being run by The Salvation Army’s school for the deaf in Darjeeling, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas. In these communities many parents still do not understand that deaf children can be educated. It is common for the children to be put to work in the tea gardens with little attention being given to them.

The outreach programme is also seeking to teach parents sign language so they can communicate with their children. It was amazing to see parents starting to learn the ABCs of signing.

Sometimes an older sibling will be the instructor. I also saw that a very young boy was learning signing so he could communicate with his older brother. These are tiny steps to remove the stigma of deafness.

The students seem to have particularly acute sight and as a result they have a very effective cricket team. They play some of the most prestigious school teams in their area and often beat them. Through the simple medium of sport these students are gaining respect in the hearing community.

Manun, or Captain Lalnunsangi as she’s officially known, is teaching the children at her school that they may be deaf but they are not dumb – a basic lesson but one they must believe.

Darjeeling seems to be paying a high price for its most famous crop – tea. The school has a very high proportion of its deaf children from families who work in the tea gardens. Apparently the locals recognise a link between the tea gardens and the high level of deafness but it is not known exactly what the cause is.

Manun commented several times that The Salvation Army’s aim is to drive deafness out of the area. The first step in doing this will be to find out the root cause of the problem. The Salvation Army will seek scientific advice to determine what is causing this anomaly.

In Kalimpong, another hill station in the same area, I was welcomed to the Mary Scott Home for the Blind by a fife and drum band. The school is built on a steep mountainous slope and I had to watch my step to negotiate my way. The blind students were rushing past me, completely at home in the environment.

This school has many graduates who have reached influential posts in government and the business world. The students may not have sight but they do have a vision for their future. Both these centres are very grateful for the small number of overseas friends who provide sponsorship.

In Guwahati, capital of the Assam province, another type of vision is expanding. In this city, surrounded by tea plantations and on the banks of the mighty Brahmaputra River, the India Eastern Territory wants to establish a centre for what are known as barefoot missionaries. The territory already has 253 local missionaries, sponsored by their own churches, who volunteer for a couple of years and go to share the gospel in outlying areas.

Now plans are being made to use Guwahati as a training centre for a new step of outreach into all the states of north-east India – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. In this strategic area the countries of Nepal, Bhutan and China are all within the vision of the territory as places for future expansion.

The centre will train a new type of missionary: one who shares the gospel of Jesus Christ and also brings community development to the people. In this way The Salvation Army’s mission of ‘heart to God and hand to man’ is making new advances in this beautiful but remote corner of India.

Major Seth Le Leu is The Salvation Army’s International Projects and Development Officer

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