Dr. LeWana Clark, left, and Kliptown resident Glenna.
A few months before our trip to South Africa, Dr. LeWana Clark, who has been the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus’s American Sign Language interpreter since 1989, was in touch with leaders at the Kliptown Youth Program. With the number of children and teens living in Kliptown, LeWana figured that the odds were high that there were kids with hearing impairment living there, and she wanted to arrange to meet with them, if possible.
On the day of our visit, she met Glenna, who attends school outside of Kliptown but who happened to be home on the day of our visit. LeWana and Glenna spoke with each other. The only other people in Glenna’s life who know sign language are at the school she attends. No one in Kliptown is able to sign with her.