The interpreter giving a voice to the deaf in Abidjan

By Rédaction Africanews and Mytilène Légré

An estimated 75,000 people with hearing loss live in Ivory Coast. For many of them, daily tasks that often require speaking and hearing are incredibly difficult to navigate. Israël Mansaré, a psychologist and interpreter, has decided to become their voice and ears.

Buying food, going to school, or asking for medication at the pharmacist’s: what may seem like ordinary tasks for most people becomes a daily struggle for those with partial or complete hearing loss.

In Ivory Coast’s capital Abidjan, deaf citizens may have found a new ally in Israël Mansaré, a psychologist-turned-interpreter for those with hearing loss.

For Gildas Zamble, a carpenter, Mansaré has become a voice and ears, translating his needs from sign language to speech in various situations.

“I realised that, as human beings, we all need to be understood and to express what we need”, explains Mansaré.

“Unfortunately, our deaf and hard-of-hearing brothers and sisters struggle to make themselves understood. Sign language is a well-developed language, with vocabulary, grammar and spelling, allowing them to express their needs,” he continues.

But Mansaré is only one interpreter, and the country would need hundreds more to help more deaf people break the barriers of their linguistic isolation within Ivorian society.

The situation is particularly acute when it comes to public services, which those with hearing loss sometimes refrain from using out of incomprehension of their needs from those employed in medical or administrative sectors.

But people like Mansaré bring hope to the community, making Ivorian society more inclusive word by word, and gesture by gesture.