When 42-year-old Luke Kizito was a young boy, he regularly experienced how difficult his deaf older sister's invisible disability was for her.
“It was a challenge for my sister. It was also a challenge for me because I had no knowledge of the Kenyan Sign Language at the time, considering I was a young boy,” he said.
“So most times, my sister was left out of things like watching TV programmes.”
Years later, that experience led Kizito to open a TV station catering to deaf persons.
The broadcast channel, Signs TV, is among the 50 top solutions worldwide, as ranked by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and was featured in the 2019 Youth Solutions Report.
"I have 43 employees. 17 of them are disabled. They are deaf, blind and some are albinos," Kizito said.
His journey, however, did not stop there. Recognising the need for translation for some of the sign language on his station, Kizito decided he needed a translation app. The result: assistALL.
"Through Signs TV, we created this app to enable the deaf and the disabled to know what is happening around them, across the country and the globe, by translating news and other stories for them," he said.
Kizito came up with the app at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 to assist the deaf in communicating with government officers, organisations and fellow Kenyans.
"You see, it was difficult for both the deaf and those who hear to communicate because both of them were in masks. And given the pull and shove of that time, communication was key," Kizito said.
The app also helped with communications between his staff at the station.
“assistALL is meant to bridge the communication gap between service providers, businesses and deaf clients,” Kizito said.
To use the assistALL app, any user requiring an interpreter simply logs in and requests an interpreter for his or her service. Once connected, the user is linked to a sign language interpreter, who provides his or her interpretation services for Sh30 per minute. Interpreters call via video call and have profiles with ratings and reviews.
Edna Kaindi, a deaf journalist, said the app has helped to break down communication barriers between the deaf and those with hearing.
"This application actually made it easier for me to communicate with service providers, especially taxi cab drivers. However, we can make it much easier by ensuring there are more interpreters signed in," Kaindi said.
Sharon Wambui, a sign language interpreter, described deafness as unique in that it is not immediately obvious that someone is deaf.
“Did you know that the biggest challenge with deafness is that it is an invisible disability? You wouldn't know unless you attempt to communicate,” she said.
This challenge creates a barrier to the deaf community when it comes to accessing services, she said.
Wambui gave the example of the recently concluded African Climate Change Summit, where sign language interpreters faced a number of difficulties.
"Three lessons I have learnt from the Africa Climate Summit as a sign language interpreter is that I must do my homework," she said.
"As the larger public struggled to understand carbon credits, carbon markets, carbon sinks and other technical terms, so did sign language interpreters.
"(While) the topic of climate change and the technical terminologies are not new, climate discussions are not common in day-to-day conversation. That is why we needed to do our homework. Scour through as many information resources as possible to ensure that when interpreting, we are passing on accurate information to our audience."
Despite these challenges, Wambui appreciated the efforts of inclusivity taking place in Africa, noting that during the summit, they had more than 30 interpreters to cater for the deaf community so that no one was left behind.
"That is a significant step in the inclusion of the deaf community to engage in high-level forums and in an area that has a direct impact on them,” she said.
She further noted that sign language translation can be revolutionised with inventions like the assistALL mobile app.
Rosemary Munyendo, the principal of Saint Kizito’s Litein Girls Secondary School for the Deaf, said the app was a breakthrough technology for parents needing to urgently communicate with children when specific situations arise.
"We have difficulties at school, especially when reporting, visiting and end of term, because parents do not know what their children want,” Munyendo said.
She said at those times, teachers often have to stand in as interpreters when parents want to communicate with their children.
“A parent would come to school and ask teachers to talk to their children to establish how they feel or what they want. I believe this app will go a long way in ensuring parents whose children are hard of hearing communicate," Munyendo said.
The 2019 Kenya National Population Census indicated that there were 153,381 deaf people aged above five years old in Kenya. However, the app is also designed for deaf tourists and business people visiting the country.
"Since launching the app back in 2022, we have worked with taxi providers and hoteliers to ensure there is communication between the deaf and the hearing,” Kizito said, adding that the assistALL app has led to better communication in many work environments.