I was born deaf. I was the only deaf person in my family, so it was difficult for me to communicate with my parents and siblings. When I reached the schooling age, I entered a local primary school. There again I was the only deaf child in the entire school. There was no attention paid to my disability during classes, so I could not follow the lessons and was alone all the time. I eventually left school and stayed home all day. One day, my father happened to meet an adult deaf person in town. My father told him about me and invited him to our house. When I first met him, I got introduced to the world of sign language. As I did not have any knowledge of sign language, I just stared at him, puzzled. He was teaching sign language and the entry-level reading and writing skills to several deaf children at his home, so I joined these children. As I began to know sign language, I felt a great deal of joy because I could now express my thoughts and feelings. After a while, a deaf school was established in my town and I enrolled as one of the first students. School life was great fun because I could communicate with my fellow deaf students in sign language. All lessons were conducted in sign language. Some of the teachers were not very familiar with sign language, but we were able to understand the lessons as they were carried out in sign language. In 2010, I received information about the Duskin AINOWA Foundation’s training program from the Kavre Development Association of the Deaf. I was overjoyed when I was selected as a trainee. I then arrived in Japan at the end of August 2011.

Soon after arriving in Japan, I was awestruck by Japan’s high-tech power. So much so that, even though I was quite tired, I was drawn into the scenery of sky-high buildings and Japanese landscapes that whizzed past my bullet train window.

It was also amazing to see how our culinary cultures differed. In Japan, ingredients and the way they are cooked are different from those in Nepal and often I found it bewildering. I tried all types of Japanese food though, because my Japanese friends recommended them. Sashimi – the raw fish – has now become my favorite food, even though I could not even touch them at first.

However, what most amazed and moved me in Japan was that there were so many deaf people in town. Nepal is very hilly so one’s territory is naturally limited, and I did not meet any new deaf people in my town – the ones I used to meet there were the ones I already knew.

We the 13th trainees received a course of ski training in Niigata. It has become one of the most unforgettable, happy memories in my life. I had two instructors. One of them was hard of hearing and knew sign language, so we communicated in the Japanese sign language. The other instructor had no knowledge of sign language, but I could communicate with him in body language. Thanks to these instructors I eventually managed to ski well, and also grew to love skiing. I wished I had been able to ski every year with my instructors.

PC training

In January, I learned Personal Computer (PC) skills from Ms. Uchida. She was also a deaf person and instructed me in sign language, using textbook materials with ample amounts of illustrations and photographs. When I learned PC skills in Nepal, I took classes given by a non-disabled lecturer, relying on a sign language interpreter. At that time, it was painful to read text full of tiny characters, and I also hesitated to ask questions even if I wanted to. With Ms Uchida, I could ask her anything if I had questions. There were also textbook materials designed specifically for deaf people, so it was easy to revise what I had learned by myself. It was all thanks to Ms Uchida that I, who had little no knowledge of computers, have managed to acquire basic PC skills. I feel that deaf computer specialists and instructors are needed in Nepal.

Presentation training

In February, I learned about making presentations at the NPO Japanese ASL Signers Society – from how to create effective PowerPoint slides and other presentation materials, how to maintain a good posture during a presentation, to how one should talk. Following instructions given by Ms. Takakusa, I prepared my presentation with much effort, often working late at night. At the end of the training I finally gave a presentation to an audience. I was very nervous, but afterwards I had a great sense of achievement. Through the training at the Japanese ASL Signers Society, I understood the points to focus on when speaking in front of people, and how to convey information in ways that are easy for others to understand.

Osaka Association of the Deaf

In March I left Tokyo for Osaka, for the training at the Osaka Association of the Deaf. I found four of the training themes especially memorable: employment for deaf people, job coaching, movement for and by deaf people, and the video library.

In Japan, deaf people are engaged in a variety of occupations. I met deaf people who were working using computers at companies, or baking cookies. The cookies were very elaborately wrapped. In Nepal there are also deaf people who make and sell baked items, but they are struggling to improve sales. I felt that it was important for the items to be tasty of course, but also a good presentation was important, then the products would look fun and appealing.

Job coaching was a new concept for me. Job coaches offer support to deaf people when they face problems at their workplaces. Job coaches also support non-disabled people at workplace when they are not certain about how to communicate with deaf people. With such support, deaf employees and their colleagues/employers can work together well.

I had heard that Osaka was one of the core places in the history of deaf movements, with many great achievements. In fact, the deaf movement in Osaka is very powerful and well organized. There are also deaf movements in Nepal, but I feel their actions are not very effective. First of all, in Osaka they have good meetings, where all participants are actively involved. Clearly, they had mutual trust and a bond with one another, which had developed through active interactions, and this was the driving force of their fruitful deaf movements.

The video library had many books, videos and DVDs. The videos and DVDs had subtitles and sign language wipes. These could be viewed at the library, or sent to one’s home for home viewing. There were also new DVDs constantly coming in. In Nepal’s video libraries, new DVDs take a long time to make and it is not permitted to rent them out either. Japan has a robust system to provide latest information to deaf people.

From April to May, I went to training courses at the Rehabilitation and Treatment Center for People with Hearing and Speech Disorders and “Ikoi-no-Mura” Village of Retreat, where I met deafblind people for the first time in my life. I learned tactile sign language and was thrilled when others understood my signs properly. I was told that there must be deafblind people in Nepal, but I have never met one. When I go back to Nepal I would like to look for them and support them.

At “Ikoi-no-Mura” Village of Retreat, I spent time with elderly deaf people and tried helping them with meals, bathing and everyday chores: every work was the first-time-experience for me, so I was quite relieved when I did well. I also experienced working in a vegetable field. After ploughing the soil with a tractor, we used a stick with an oval cross-section to drill holes in the ground at a regular interval, where we planted seeds. This way, it is possible to quickly and neatly plant the seeds. The vegetables harvested in this field were sold locally. In Nepal there are also many deaf people engaged in agriculture, but many are only helping with their families. It is going to be a viable business for deaf people, to get together and engage in cooperative agriculture, selling vegetables, much like “Ikoi-no-Mura” Village of Retreat. In Nepal, there are many young deaf people who are homebound because they do not have a job. I wanted to show these young people the way the deaf people at “Ikoi-no-Mura” Village of Retreat are working in the field, despite their old age.

Through many different kinds of training in Japan, I thought about what is really needed for deaf people in Nepal. It must be “information” and “passion”. In Japan, deaf people can rent videos and DVDs with subtitles and sign language, and there are also TV programs with subtitles and sign language. They help widen deaf people’s knowledge, and also help them to participate in the society.

The “passion” I saw in the fields of deaf movement in Japan, is also something I rarely see in Nepal. It also relates to my own experience. People can be passionate at first, but because their work does not get rewarded very easily, they give up in the end. I have heard that the current Japanese welfare system is the result of many years of persistent deaf movements. I thought that would be important to keep at it, believing that changes would eventually take place.

What I must do immediately after returning home, is to pass that I have learnt in Japan onto people in Nepal. I will create text materials with many illustrations and photographs, much like the text given to me for the PC training, and will talk to my peers using what I learned during the presentation training. I would like to tell them not only about Japan, but about developments in and outside of Nepal. As I mentioned before, deaf people in Nepal just do not get enough information. Deaf people need to have information provided in sign language, but in Nepal, which is extremely hilly and mountainous, it is difficult to get many people in one place. I would like to find ways to enable as many people as possible to access information with a use of new technologies such as online streaming video. I am certain that the examples of deaf people’s activities overseas will motivate my fellow deaf people in Nepal.

It is also important, when relaying information, to take notice of how the recipient feels. I must always focus on the feeling of the listener, and must not be self-absorbed.

I will work hard toward the day when deaf people in Nepal can easily access “information” and engage in their work and activities with “passion”.

I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the staff of the Duskin AINOWA Foundation and the Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities – all thanks to you I managed to accomplish the training program. In particular, I would like to express my special thanks to Ms Nasu, for her sign language interpretation to help me acquire sufficient knowledge during the training. I will never forget the fond memories of my fellow 13th program trainees, and everything I learned from the people I met in Japan. I wish you all the best in your future.