Stories from the Field: Reaching Kenya’s Deaf with God’s Story
- Paul Wynn
- Jun 23
- 2 min read
There is an unreached community that you may not have ever considered, the deaf community. Officially, there are 70 million deaf people around the world, but estimates place it as high as 400 million.
Fewer than 2% of the global deaf community have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That makes them an unreached people group.
Last year, one of our Board Members, Danny Torres, met Gacoki Kipruto of Kenya at a missions conference in Georgia. He immediately made a FaceTime call to Paul Wynn to introduce them.
A month later, Paul and Doug Keesey met Gacoki in person in Nairobi, Kenya. She shared about her ministry that uses sports camps around the country to introduce Jesus to children and teens. We discussed how the OneMessage.tv video Bible stories could be used with her ministry.
But Gacoki introduced us to another unreached people group, the Kenyan Deaf Community. There are nearly a quarter of a million deaf people in Kenya. Think about it. Even if there happens to be a church in their village, the church probably doesn't offer sign language alternatives for the deaf.
Gacoki introduced us to Judy Kihumba who is with Talking Hands in Nairobi. She works with the Deaf community in Kenya.
Every country has its own sign language, and here in Kenya, it’s Kenyan Sign Language (KSL). That’s why OneMessage.tv is working on a video Bible story library in KSL—so Deaf communities can experience God’s Word in a way that truly connects.
We are using the Swahili language library, which we have already produced, and adding KSL to each of the Swahili videos.
When the deaf are communicating with one another, much of the context is in their facial expressions and the way they sign. Judy shared with us that if a video includes sign language it is usually in a small box at the bottom of the screen. That makes it difficult to see those expressions.
Since OneMessage.tv is creating this library specifically for the Kenyan deaf community, we can address those concerns. The KSL videos have the sign interpreter in nearly a full half of the screen.
Here’s what Judy said about showing the Crucifixion story on Pentecost Sunday:
"We showed the video to some deaf children, all under the age of 15. I was explaining about Easter and why we celebrate it. The reception was amazing. It was very easy for them to relate to the story. The videos allowed me to share why our faith is grounded in Jesus Christ."
–Judy Kihumba
Nairobi, Kenya
This story is so similar to every one of the people groups that we work with. God introduces us to someone who introduces us to someone else who reveals a new need and a new unreached people group.
Please pray for Gacoki and Judy as they carry the love of Jesus to the deaf across Kenya.
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