“This little boy stole my heart and he didn’t need language to do it.”

Mahalon is a four-year-old boy who lives in Kenya. He is Deaf with very little language skills. Those who know him describe him as tentative, observant, sweet, and affectionate. This past summer Deaf Child Hope took a missions trip to Kenya and Uganda and a couple of our staff members were on the trip. One of them made a special connection with Mahalon and was brave enough to share with us a bit about that relationship.

“This little boy stole my heart and he didn’t need language to do it. When we arrived at the school initially and got off the van my eyes saw a little boy standing in the background observing us but keeping his distance. No doubt he was unsure of these white ladies getting out of the car. He shortly made his way over to us and grabbed my hand. He would not let me go. He held on tightly. At one point I opened my hand up to see what he would do, he did not let go. He followed me everywhere. As you can see from some of the photos he fell asleep on me multiple times. I would then carry him up to their dorm room and place him on his bed. After waking up he would come and find me again. I remember being in a crowded room with the other kiddos and he pushed his way to me and immediately grabbed my hand. On our last day we were getting into the van and he tried to get in with me. My heart broke as one of the older children gently pulled him back. She signed to me, “You know he is going to cry when you leave.” I honestly could feel my heart breaking as we began to drive away. I looked in the rearview mirror, saw him wiggle out of her arms and start running toward the van. My eyes welled up with tears and it’s happening again right now as I think about it. I remember getting back to our room that night and Googling Kenya adoption laws. I could feel God telling me “slow down.” I knew if the timing for that wasn’t now, being his sponsor would be the next best thing I could be.”

-Allyson Imholz, Arizona

We’ve chosen sweet little Mahalon to represent all Deaf children in poverty as we launch our Propeller Campaign this month.

Deaf Child Hope is launching the Propeller Campaign to raise $1 million dollars to “propel” us to new heights and the next level of impact in our mission of helping deaf children in poverty. These financial resources will help fund a large, and much needed, expansion critical to our mission, and now until the end of the year all financial gifts toward the Propeller Campaign, up to $50,000, will be matched!

You may or may not be familiar with the concept of a Sign name. In Deaf culture a specific sign is used to represent you as a person, versus fingerspelling an individuals name each time, which can be tedious. A hearing person doesn’t pick their own Sign name however, you have to be given one by someone who is Deaf. The staff was eager to learn what Mahalon’s Sign name was. It is as important as knowing how to spell or pronounce his Kenyan name. To sign Mahalon’s sign name you make the letter ‘D’ with your right (or dominant) hand, and then with the tips of your fingers tap your head right above the right eyebrow. Often the sign name is given based on a physical trait of the person such as curly hair or dimples. For Mahalon it is because he has a dent in his head at that spot.

We will be sharing more stories and experiences about Mahalon as well as other Deaf children at our partners through out the next couple months during our big Propeller Campaign kick off so make sure to follow us closely on social!