Yemen

Yemen. One of the most interesting places I have ever been. The influence and power of the society is found on the shoulders of the women even though from an outward glance it would seem that men control everything. The entire country is highly religious (Muslim)- almost 100% of the women cover in black except their eyes. The men chew "qat", a drug that is illegal in most places of the world and which is highly addictive. They start chewing around 2:00 in the afternoon and are out of commission for most of the rest of the day. I spent about a week in Sana'a, the capitol and then drove a few hours north to some villages to visit some deaf patients of a friend who runs a clinic. We wanted to love and encourage these families. And I personally wanted to encourage the families to learn sign language in order to communicate with their kids! In this picture above, I was visiting a sweet family... one of the poorest homes I have ever visited. I am not exactly sure how many- more than 6 members- lived in two or three dark, dingy rooms. The oldest child who is about 8 (they don't really know their ages since they tend not to keep up with or celebrate birthdays) is deaf and also has other physical handicaps. Abdul's parents had been given hearing aids and told that their son should be able to hear with them. After reading his audiogram, I broke the news to them that their profoundly deaf son would never be hearing. But I encouraged them to use sign language to communicate with their very bright and very sweet son. In this picture I am helping shape Abdul's hands into a sign.