Khartoum – Promoting inclusion, communication, and awareness in Sudan, particularly among teachers, families, and organisations that support communities of deaf or hard-of-hearing people. Father Jorge Naranjo, Comboni Missionary, MCCJ, writes about a web platform the missionaries are developing for teaching sign language in Sudanese Arabic. The goal is to facilitate communication with deaf and hard-of-hearing people. The site, managed by the Comboni College of Science and Technology , is designed to teach the language through multimedia resources and is aimed at Sudanese Arabic speakers who wish to learn it for personal, professional or educational reasons.
Furthermore, it will facilitate access to accredited translators of the Sudan National Union of Deaf Persons, so that institutions can easily include people with hearing impairments in their activities. The recording of video-lessons started on 30th September with an accredited translator provided by the Sudan National Union of Deaf Persons.
Father Naranjo is the Rector of Comboni College in Khartoum . In 2023, the institution was affected by the outbreak of the civil war. Although it still stands, the main building became the epicenter of a battlefield. Thus, Khartoum remains in the name, but its activities have taken on a different form with the launch of online learning programs.
CCK opened as a secondary school in 1929 with the aim of continuing the educational mission of Saint Daniel Comboni. Since then, the college has grown into a multi- religious and international institution, based in the capital Khartoum, which welcomes both Christian and Muslim students. In 2001, at the request of parents who wanted their children to have educational continuity based on the principles of the school, the Comboni College of Science & Technology was opened to create an inclusive society where each individual can aspire to excellence, both spiritual and professional. “Almost half of the students and most of the teaching staff are of Islamic faith,” Fr. Naranjo had previously said. “Together, we seek to educate our young people to serve according to a model that seeks to integrate their cultural diversity and create social cohesion, particularly with those who live on the outskirts of the country , or refugees of Eritrean or South Sudanese origin.”
However, the country continues to experience conflict and instability . Its recent history is marked by internal conflicts that led to South Sudan’s declaration of independence in 2011 and the civil war that broke out in 2023, pitting two armed groups against each other: the Sudanese military and a paramilitary group that broke away from the regular army, the Rapid Support Forces, currently commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
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