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| Sammy and Yao sharing toys |
Our 3-year-old, while trying to learn three languages, has gotten really good at gesturing. When he
can’t communicate in French, he points and makes noises. (He also pretends to
be a train, running and whistling while he pulls his “tender,” but that’s
another story.) So, a couple of months ago when we visited a village about 45
minutes away from our home and he met a young boy who is deaf, they connected
immediately. Neither of them needed words to communicate. They could use
gestures and noises and got along great.
We’ve been going to this village often because it’s one of two
sites of the start of the Children of Promise sponsorship program and each time,
Sammy loves playing with Yao. Some other kids find it strange that Yao can’t
speak French or Baoulé, an
African language common in this village, but Sammy can’t communicate well in
either of those languages, either, so he finds gesturing and noise-making a
normal means of communication with his new-found friend.
We found out that deaf children can’t attend regular schools
here and there’s only one deaf school in the whole country, meaning education
is inaccessible to most deaf children who live in villages.
We’ve been praying for Yao during Sammy’s nighttime prayers.
The first night we prayed for him, Sammy stopped the prayer and said, “Yao. He
can’t hear. Mom….he’s my best friend.” Now, Sammy’s 3 years old, so his best
friend changes weekly, if not daily. But his words still touched my heart. More
than that, his gestures touched this mama’s heart.
