....about the school for the deaf in Eritrea

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea's Special School for the Deaf

In 1922, Swedish missionary Rev. Olle Hagner was sent to Eritrea, initially working in Gash Barka. Due to World War II, he was later relocated to Asmara, where he employed a hearing- and speech-impaired housemaid named Fikadu. His experience with her sparked a lasting commitment to support Eritrea's Deaf community. Realizing that proper education empowered Deaf individuals to become highly capable workers, he began planning to create educational opportunities for them.

In 1941, Rev. Hagner returned to Sweden and shared his vision with Rev. Ivar Svennas, who then mobilized support from Swedish Deaf communities and pastors. Together, they founded the "Deaf's African Mission" (DAM) to initiate work in Eritrea.

The first missionary dedicated to serving Deaf people in Eritrea was Finnish teacher Miss Elsie Ross, who began teaching in Keren in 1955. In 1960, Germany’s Deaf Mission joined, and together with DAM, they formed the Joint Committee Mission for the Deaf (JCMD).

Keren was chosen as the site for Eritrea’s first Deaf school due to its favorable climate, and the school opened in 1955, becoming the first Deaf school in East Africa. Initially operating from a rented house, the school moved to larger premises in 1969. Swedish and Finnish sign languages greatly influenced the development of Eritrean Sign Language, as no indigenous sign language had been recorded before the missionaries' arrival.

Eritrea is home to approximately 40,000 deaf individuals living in both urban and rural areas. The country has nine native languages, with the addition of English and Eritrean Sign Language (ESL) bringing the total to eleven. English was first introduced in schools for the deaf by Finnish and Swedish teachers. However, 80% of Eritrea's deaf population lacks access to education, with only 20% attending schools that utilize sign language.

The only boarding school for the deaf is located in Keren, limiting access for deaf individuals from remote villages. Tigrigna Sign Language is used at the school because it aligns with Tigrigna, one of Eritrea's most widely spoken languages, despite the country’s linguistic diversity.

Swedish and Finnish Sign Languages (SWSL & FSL) were introduced into Eritrean Sign Language (ESL) by the early teachers. There were no documented indigenous sign languages before the missionaries arrived, and Swedish Sign Language shares similarities with ESL, a connection that is still evident today.

An Eritrean Sign Language dictionary was created in 2008, but it includes only 2,000 words due to limited funding and resources for further development. Many Eritrean deaf individuals communicate using EriSL, which remains underdeveloped, with only 2,000 recorded words, though it is closely related to Swedish Sign Language.