September is National Deaf Awareness Month in the U.S. Deaf people in the U.S. face many challenges because of their disability and deserve recognition for their resilience.
In other parts of the world, Deaf people face even more challenges. They have little access to life-changing resources such as medical care and soul-changing resources such as the Gospel in sign language. Missionaries are reaching people who are Deaf, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
Deaf Populations Around the World
At least 1.5 billion people around the world experience some level of hearing loss in one or both ears. 70 million people around the world are Deaf, which means they have a severe hearing impairment that prevents them from processing spoken language.
56 million of these Deaf people live in developing countries where most households make less than $1,000 a year. They have little access to medical care, education, or the Gospel. Missions experts consider these people unreached, but you can Pray for the Unreached with our prayer guide.
Difficulties and Opportunities of Sharing the Gospel
The extreme lack of resources means that most people with hearing loss won’t receive medical care that could alleviate associated problems, such as vertigo. Health problems make it difficult to help around the home, go to school, or work. Without opportunities to contribute to their household or community, they may feel worthless and depressed.
If Deaf people are able to attend a local school, they will still struggle to communicate. Most schools in developing countries don’t employ any teachers who know sign language or offer curriculum for students with different educational needs. Without the ability to communicate effectively, Deaf people will struggle to join mainstream society and work. And they will never understand a Gospel presentation.
Even if a hearing or Deaf person tries to share the Gospel with an unreached Deaf population through sign language or written testimony, the unreached probably can’t understand the message. Most unreached people never had the opportunity to learn sign language or even written language. They cannot communicate or they only communicate with rudimentary signs they’ve developed with their family. They haven’t had the education and support they need to understand evangelists and missionaries. This inability to communicate is a large reason why only 2% of the worldwide Deaf population are Christians.
Health and education difficulties are opportunities for the Gospel. One of the best things Christians, either Deaf or hearing, can do for unreached Deaf people in developing countries is to fill the gaps they’re experiencing. Providing medical care, education, and vocational training will allow Deaf people to communicate and fully participate in their society, encouraging their self-worth. When they understand how valuable they are in their community, they can also understand how valuable they are in the Kingdom of God.
Native Missionaries Helping Deaf People
Advancing Native Missions is already helping Deaf people through our native missionaries around the world.
For example, in Honduras, we partner with His Love in Action (HLA), a ministry to Deaf people in the Tegucigalpa area.
A woman named Carmen had a Deaf daughter and started the ministry 35 years ago to bridge the gap we described above, and now they provide formal schooling and vocational training to disabled people. They also established the first Deaf church in Honduras and helped the Deaf community create the first Honduras Sign Language book.
When you support ANM and HLA, you provide for the needs of these Deaf students. After following the link and selecting the amount, search for 180HLA and select that ministry to receive the funds. Every sign language interpreter and school supply helps someone receive a life-changing education.
Getting Involved with Deaf Communities
You can get involved with the worldwide Deaf community and other unreached people groups through ANM. We support native missionaries who are living among the people they serve and sharing the Gospel with them in unique ways, from the Deaf and blind school in Honduras to Bible distribution in the 10/40 Window.
Missionaries are reaching people who are Deaf in various ways and you can help them, especially through prayer. Our Pray for the Unreached guide will take you through praying for unreached people groups around the world. While we don’t mention Deaf people specifically in this guide, you can include them in all the prayers since there are Deaf people on almost every continent.
