How 25-year-old teacher is a beacon of hope for Deaf children

Aron Mutembei is on a mission to mentor and empower young students, particularly those with disabilities, to achieve the success he is now experiencing.

The 25-year-old is set to graduate with a degree in Education as the only Deaf person, from Maasai Mara University on December 9, 2024.

“Come next week, I’ll be done with school, and I am so happy and grateful. All the challenges I faced in school will be behind me as I move on to a new level of life,” he says smiling.

Mutembei, who joined the school in 2020, overcame a lack of interpreters, communication barrier and lack of funds in the four years.

“School was great, but like every stage of life, it came with challenges. From interpreters missing classes to communication barriers with my friends, and even struggling with insufficient funds to pay for my education,” Mutembei says.

He continues, “However, I decided not to let these setbacks hold me back. Despite the communication challenges, I borrowed notes from my friends and took pictures of them to catch up, coupled with a lot of individual studying in the library. I also had to find jobs to support my education. I once worked as a cleaner in a bank, earning around Sh. 12,000, and before that, I worked as a mason.”

He says before deciding to become a teacher, he wanted to be a lawyer but quickly decided against that after noticing challenges he had and knew he would solve.

“Back in Form One, I wanted to be a lawyer. However, as I observed the challenges faced by Deaf learners, such as difficulty understanding complex words, struggles with English, and a lack of encouragement to push themselves academically, I realized that they believed it was harder for them to succeed,” Mutembei says.

“This made me reconsider my path. I decided to pursue education and become a teacher to directly help these students. I understand their challenges better than anyone else, and I want to be the person who can support and encourage them to succeed.”

Born in a family of three, Mutembei has always been a teacher, even to his hearing parents and siblings, teaching them basic sign language to ease communication.

As he looks for stable employment, Mutembei hopes his milestone will serve as a triumph over adversity for the entire deaf community.

As a history and Christian religious education teacher (C.R.E.), Mutembei is now mentoring the students he teaches at Ngala School for the Deaf to inspire and empower them and help them believe in their potential and pursue their dreams.