Being a Deaf American in Africa

The Unheard by Josh Swiller

This is an excellent book of the author’s experiences as a deaf American working for the Peace Corps in Zambia. He did get have a cochlear implant, so he does have some hearing. He goes to Zambia to work with deaf children, who traditionally in the area were treated as hopeless cases. As well as teaching them sign language, and reading and writing, he ends up teaching them more about what a deaf person can accomplish.



The book is engaging and interesting – his quest to find a place to fit in teaches him more than he ever expected. Along the way are the usual comedy of errors as he adjusts to how things work – and indeed what does not work, encountering tribal politics and working in a health clinic assisting the local man who becomes a dear friend. He encounters ignorance as well as open minds, and has a hard time adjusting his American attitudes to life in this out-of-the-way village.



Fascinating and well worth a read, I especially recommend it if you ever wondered what a Peace Corps experience can be like.