Chas Wirick

Servants in Faith and Technology, May-June 2012

Servants In Faith And Technology (SIFAT) is the best time ever in my life. This is what I want to do in a future job: to help Deaf people learn to be independent with basic technological living styles. I feel confidence myself that I really want to do this in my future job. I see how SIFAT can provide people from poverty area knowledge of how to improve their living with basic needs technology. I am so glad that God guided me to help Deaf people to the most possibilities that are helpful to teach them how to be independent for future.

I learned from these courses at SIFAT: Appropriate Technologies for Water and Sanitation, Child Malnutrition Solutions, Child Survival Technologies, Community Development Strategies, Community Malnutrition Assessment, Ecological Basis of Food Systems, Food Perservation Technologies, Fuel Efficient Cook Stoves, Gardening for Maximum Nutrition, Innovation Urban Gardening of ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization), Leaf for Life/Micronutrient Deficiencies, Participatory Rural Appraisal Approaches, and Urban Gardening Techniques. From these, I see the structures that will help Deaf people to be independent for the future. And I see the whole picture, a structure of what Deaf people need to learn how to independent. I learned how to help Deaf people to take care themselves for future.

My vision is to become a Deaf missionary to teach Deaf people how to be independent with these basic technology needs in developing countries. My fiancee agrees with me that I will spend most of my time to help Deaf people from developing countries.

I will give you example of what I want to do. In Nairobi, they have a lot of problem with respiratory disease. There are a lot of people use stoves the wrong way, which leads to death. There are always ways to save people lives from stove fires. I can start to teach about stove safety. I can add the pipe above the sky and narrow insert small wood sticks. There are solution to help people who struggle to use stove.

Also I will encourage mothers to feed their baby with breastfeeding for at least six months. There are many things that I can find the way to help Deaf people who struggle with living.

I have so much passion to find the way that I can help Deaf people who seriously need help with basic needs technology from developing countries.

I thank the United Methodist Committee on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Ministries for helping me go to SIFAT. I couldn't imagine the future without God working through you to help me out. Thank you for you helped me a lot! Thank you being faithful, to help me to become a better person. May God bless you millions of times.

Warmly,
Chas

A word from SIFAT

"Chas helped to sensitize all of us to the Deaf community. Since 1979 SIFAT has had community leaders here for training from 87 countries representing many people groups, languages and cultures, but Chas was the first Deaf person here. A fellow participant from the developing world said in his final evaluation of the training experience, 'I know we have Deaf people at home, but I've just never really noticed them before. Because of Chas, I'm returning home with a new perspective of my own community. We need to engage them too. They deserve to participate fully..."
— Kathy Bryson, international training director, SIFAT