Patrick Otema was born deaf in a remote village in Uganda, Africa. In Uganda, and many other African countries, people do not have access to schools for the deaf.
Therefore, until the filming of this video, Patrick had never learned sign language and had thus never been able to have a complex conversation with anyone in his entire life. Those who knew him, said he mostly spent his time alone in his small hut, isolating himself from the rest of the world.
“Patrick’s fate is not unusual. A majority of deaf people in Sub-Saharan Africa have never been taught sign language. Unable to communicate with others, they’re trapped in their own minds,” said Kiki King, a journalist who has been closely following events on people with hearing loss in Uganda.
However, Patrick’s life was changed when the Uganda National Association for the Deaf, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering individuals with hearing loss, led the establishment of a sign language school for those with hearing loss in the country.
To help tell Patrick’s story to the rest of the world, the British broadcaster, Channel 4 put together a video documentary so the world can understand the complex situation we are talking about. In the video, Patrick is seen attending his first class. The previously reserved Patrick is seen coming alive during the lesson, engaging with the material and smiling widely as he tries out the new signs he is being taught.
The documentary also showed how sign language is improving the lives of children and adults who are also in similar situations in Uganda.
The director of the Channel 4 documentary, Daniel Bogado, said Patrick is gradually picking up the sign language course and has “learned a lot and is doing very well.”
In 2012, the World Health Organization said Sub-Saharan Africa has one of the world’s highest rates of disabling hearing loss in children. Bogado said the high rate is due to children having a lack of access to quality health care during infancy.
“The rate of deaf people in Uganda is twice that of a developed country like the UK. That’s because a very large number of people become deaf after contracting endemic diseases like measles, mumps or malaria,” Bogado said on Reddit.
After the story of Patrick went viral in Uganda and beyond, local activists have stepped up efforts to help other people who may be struggling with hearing loss, and are also working to provide them with the necessary tools and education.
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