I was born profoundly deaf and with spina bifida. I grew up living with my extended family as my parents had both passed away when I was a child. They made life miserable for me and I felt like I was a burden on them as I had no hope of ever earning a wage to support myself. I felt trapped by my situation. When I started work at Neema Crafts however everything changed for me. I started earning a good wage and was able to support myself independently for the first time.

Deaf people give each other short-hand signs instead of spelling out their names each time. My sign name had been ‘hunchback’ for as long as I could remember because of the curvature of my spine caused by spina bifida. After a few months at Neema Crafts however, the other deaf trainees changed my sign to ‘he is able’, as they recognised how skilled I had become (especially making our famous elephant poo paper). I much prefer my new name and I really enjoy my job, especially teaching new workers how to make paper. Through the weekly Bible studies at Neema Crafts, I have learnt that I am not cursed, but instead God loves and cares for me.