Deaf Tour Guides For Deaf People?, by Craig Grimes

Deaf Tour Guides For Deaf People?
by Craig Grimes, reporting from Nicaragua Ever since I started working in inclusive tourism for people with disabilities, I have always wanted to provide tours to deaf people in sign language. This is relatively easy if the tours that you are providing are to people from the country where the tours are based, as the language is the same. The problems begin to arise when the deaf people that want the tours are from many different countries—because sign language in every country around the world is different, and even within the same country there are wide regional dialects. There is probably really only one way around this issue for deaf people: bring your own translator from home. However, this solution is very expensive, to say the least. It comes down to a communication issue—deaf people use a different language, one which isn’t spoken but is signed. So where is the compromise? One solution that I have thought about whilst being in Nicaragua is to supply tours in American Sign Language (ASL), as the Americans are a stone’s throw from Nicaragua and probably the most likely to use the service. But who exactly do you teach ASL to in order to be able to give the tours? Your average tour guide is going to struggle for years to learn ASL to a decent enough standard, and if you have a translator and tour guide it bumps up costs even further. So what’s the alternative? In Nicaragua there are many unemployed or poorly paid deaf people that use Nicaraguan Sign Language (ISN), which is different from ASL, but close enough that with basic training they would be able to use ASL easily. This is the theory anyway! Therefore, thanks to the very generous funding of Mr. Jeremy Rowe, a client and friend of AccessibleBarcelona and AccessibleNicaragua, I am very proud to announce the First ASL – ISN Deaf Guide Training Course here in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. I’ve been organizing the course for the last couple of months with a deaf American who goes by the name of Geo (www.seekgeo.com) and Green Tours, Matagalpa. The end result is that Geo, and his hearing partner Jes, are flying down from the USA to help teach a total of 6 deaf people from Matagalpa, San Ramón and Jinotega basic ASL. We also have a local hearing translator attending the course to learn ASL with us and help out with ISN where required, and Norlan Alberquerque of Green Tours has been helping us set up some basic routes to practice in Matagalpa. The great benefit of this course is that we are not only providing a new service to Deaf Americans but we are also providing a vital new source of income to Deaf Nicaraguans. From my experience a Deaf Nicaraguan will earn approximately 550 Cordobas a month, which is about US $29. As a tour guide they can earn US $35 per day. With just one day’s work they can exceed their monthly income—this in itself would be an outstanding achievement and a bonus to the deaf community. The course and future tours also allow for a cross-cultural exchange between Deaf Americans and Nicaraguans, which will also allow the two communities to support and encourage each other. With the combination of basic ASL, the knowledge of how to establish a tour, and the use of an English/Spanish dictionary, the newly fledged Deaf Tour Guides began ASL guiding in mid-July. Now all we need are a few ASL users to come to Nicaragua and use the service! For further information about the ASL Deaf Tour Guide Service, tours and prices please email Craig at accessiblenicaragua@gmail.com.