The Executive Director of Rwanda National Union of the Deaf on Sunday appealed to the Rwandan Government to include sign language as an official language.
Designating sign language as an official language ” would help us easily access public services,” said Samuel Munana, who has hearing and speaking impairment.
Sign languages are fully fledged natural languages, structurally distinct from the spoken languages. There is also an international sign language, which is used by deaf people in international meetings and informally when travelling and socialising. It is considered a pidgin form of sign language that is not as complex as natural sign languages and has a limited lexicon.
Rwanda is among 48 countries that recently signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
However, there have been in recent years a number of surveys that have examined disability and some persons with disabilities have become disillusioned with them since they did not appear to
help them access benefits.
Latest official estimates indicate that there are some 34,000 deaf people in Rwanda, but Rwanda National Union of the Deaf (RNUD) statistics point to 70,000s.
In Rwanda, there are special schools for the deaf, blind, and other specifically defined groups of learners.
CU/abj/APA