In Every Language

Currently, approximately ten different languages are spoken at the Elder Program: Nepali, Spanish, Russian, Somali, Kirundi, Vietnamese, Karen, Arabic, and Burmese.  Some of our elders speak multiple languages, including several minor languages that very few people in the world understand.  We thought we were pretty diverse until several weeks ago when a new volunteer opened our eyes to another language at the Elder Program.

Two of our Bhutanese elders are deaf and can really only communicate in a form of sign language.  When these two elders first arrived at the program, we decided to focus primarily on writing skills, as they did not use American Sign Language, we didn't know American Sign Language in the first place, and we couldn't communicate in other method except through writing.  However, a new volunteer Christie came to the program in August; when she found out that two of the elders were deaf, she expressed a desire to work with them since she knew a great deal of sign language.

Christie began working with the two men and immediately expressed her excitement over how much she was learning from them and how much they understood her sign language.  Eventually, she set up an effective system of working with just the two men for the first hour of class and then worked with them in Sarah's class the second hour.  This way, Tara and Janga were able to get some one-on-one instruction with Christie focusing on several signs but also maintain their involvement with the larger classes.  She also brought the two men to a few events in the larger deaf community and continues to work with them as much as possible.  Even though her work schedule permits her from being at the Elder Program each session, her dedication to the deaf elders is carried on through other volunteers.  It is truly amazing to see Tara and Janga's eyes light up when working with Christie or another volunteer using sign language!

Here is an absolutely wonderful video from our trip to the Iroquois Library: Christie and Annie going through a book with Tara to practice some signing skills.