Stories and significant changes
Sergei and the deaf community of Taldykorgan
- Name:
- Sergei Kosenkov
- Home town:
- Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan
- Exchange:
- Wales - Kazakhstan, 2005
Before team 42 began their work in Taldykorgan the deaf community was very segregated from that of the hearing community. The deaf community, in some way, encouraged this segregation, only communicating with the hearing community out of necessity.
Sergei himself undertook this project, deciding only to communicate with the other volunteers if he had to. He found the language barrier even greater than any other volunteer, as he could not even communicate with the volunteers from his own country, Kazakhstan. The British volunteers arrived in Kazakhstan having a go at communication, and although these efforts were appreciated it only succeeded in confusing him further. However, through perseverance, Sergei now communicates with many of the volunteers on a social level and he has realised that communication with speaking people is fun and not just a necessity. This change in attitude has impacted upon the whole deaf community within Taldykorgan.
Before this project all of Sergei's friends were deaf, and they communicated in sign language. Then Sergei and all the Kazakhstani volunteers went to Almaty and two weeks later Sergei returned along with a whole entourage of would-be signers, having the most inane and simplified conversations but feeling really proud of themselves for that.
As time passed and our relationships developed the conversations became more detailed and on a much more sociable level. Before long the whole group knew the sign for joke, and almost everyone had been the butt of one of Sergei's practical jokes. Both Sergei and the volunteers had grown, and the communication had become more fluid. This was noticed by Sergei's friends who on many occasions didn't realise they were communicating with speaking people until a blank look crossed the volunteer's face or they turned and had a spoken conversation with someone else.
Sergei's acceptance on the project inspired his friends and opened their eyes to the opportunities available to deaf people. Sergei's job at Alpamys had not been praised by his friends. It was seen as low status and the subject was rarely mentioned among them. Then Sergei began his work at the school for deaf children as a supervisor for play and arts and crafts.
The initial reception of the teachers was suspicious and disbelieving of Sergei's ability to control the class and plan interesting lessons for the children. This was further exasperated by the work supervisor's impression that Sergei was mentally disabled and the fact that the class he worked with spoke only Kazakh sign language and although they could lipread neither Sergei nor I could speak any Kazakh.
But in the same way we had persevered with our communication with Sergei we both learnt to communicate with the children - Something Sergei never believed he would be able to do. Also through watching Sergei work and through our encouragement the teachers too began to change their impressions of Sergei's abilities as a teacher. I still remember the look of surprise on one teacher's face when she congratulated me on the crafts the kids had made only for me to reply that in fact it was Sergei who had run the whole lesson.
This confrontation of their own preconceived ideas forced the teachers to evaluate how they treated deaf people and Sergei soon noticed a positive change in their attitude towards him. They began to offer him help and to communicate with him as an equal, valuing his opinions and talking to him in a sociable way without patronising him as they had been earlier. The impact of this will be huge as the teachers now see just what it is possible for a deaf person to achieve and this will hopefully rebound on the children they teach.
We both saw how we had an effect upon the class and the other children within the school. The fact that these two people came in, learnt to communicate with them and seemed genuinely interested in them made them feel special and showed them they weren't just another kid in an institution with hundreds of other children like them. Sergei's participation in the project inspired many of the children and showed them that it was OK to have ambitions and to dream of doing more and even to travel - something that I felt was not encouraged within the school. Many of the older students asked for information about the project and wanted to know if they could participate in the project and seemed genuinely amazed that Sergei would be working in Wales and was getting the opportunity to travel.
I really believe the kids at school will remember us and I hope that the enthusiasm we saw blossom in them will continue long after we have gone. The positive reaction from the children and staff has created a real change in Sergei. He recognises how much motivation and enthusiasm he now has to work. Also his family has seen that the UK volunteers can communicate with him and are now trying to learn some sign language whereas previously they knew none.
The biggest change in Sergei is his willingness to have a go - and also, it sounds strange, but his communication skills too have improved. He has realised he has the tools to communicate with everyone be they deaf, hearing, Kazakh, Russian or British, and he knows he has made some friends for life.