34. Sidonie

The DMI blog aims to let people know about the deaf kids, teachers, pastors, schools and churches that DMI supports in developing countries, and encourage support for them by telling their amazing stories. Please share this blog with your friends.

Sidonie is a Deaf Burundian Christian born into a Muslim family. This was never going to be easy.

The fourth of five children, she was born Deaf after her mother caught an infection during the pregnancy. Sidonie was raised under Islamic teaching and culture yet she couldn’t follow much and what she did understand was of no interest to her. Curiously, her parents sent her to a Christian school for the Deaf. (It was probably their only option for Deaf schooling.) 

This opened a whole new world to her – not only the Deaf education but the Christian teaching. At the school they sang gospel songs, performed dramas, had fun – she absolutely loved it. But it was more than that. The Bible teaching had meaning. It made sense. It filled her.

At the age of 13, Sidonie took an outrageous step: she decided to became a Christian. She chose to embrace the faith that would define her, but was too scared to tell her family so she kept it a secret for two years. 

At 15, she worked up the courage to tell her mother and that’s when the mountains tumbled into the sea. Her mother exploded and treated her horridly. She began to ignore Sidonie and eventually neglected her completely. This was heartbreaking for Sidonie but she persisted in her faith. She continued going to church and reading the Word, singing hymns and performing in dramas. And she prayed for her mother.

Just after her seventeenth birthday, Sidonie’s prayers were answered. Her mother broke down. She told Sidonie that she was tired of fighting and had decided to accept her and love her for who she was – faith and all. And she did. What a breakthrough this was!

But there’s more to Sidonie’s story. Much more.

Some dramatic developments soon followed. She studied to become a tailor and at the same time began teaching sign language to the Deaf. She travelled to India to earn a Bachelor of Sign Language Studies, a great four-year struggle. She also began her own organisation back in Burundi teaching sign language, with a particular focus on students gaining financial independence. She taught signing at university. She also continued tailoring and teaching tailoring. I’m listening to all this and something dawns on me: this is not normal for a Burundian woman. Something is driving her.

I get a glimpse of this right at the end of our interview in a passing comment, almost an afterthought, as though she had let her guard down and it just slipped out. It wasn’t said in anger. It was uttered in quiet despair. 

“People are suffering. There is no work here, only abuse and rape, especially in the rural areas. I have to go to there and teach people. With financial support, we can go there and train them and help them to be aware of what is happening and improve their situation.”

I’m starting to understand what drives, Sidonie.

In 2019, DMI helped her to travel to the United States to attend a course on economic development for women. She brought this knowledge back to Burundi and with DMI’s support began to teach other women how to set up their own line of work and ensure its success so that they can become economically independent. She has taught hundreds of women how to sew and sign. She has taught hundreds more the gospel. 

All this at the age of 23.

What drives a person?

As I look into her warm smile, my heart aches for her. For all that she has seen and heard and known, she is full of love and compassion and generosity. I am humbled and in awe of this woman.

In closing the interview, it is brought to my attention that Sidonie is still single. I notice Patrick (a fellow interviewee) sitting nearby and suggest that he might be a good option for her. They both laugh heartily and Sidonie signs in her typical warm-hearted manner, “I have no such agreement with Patrick yet!”

If you would like to know how you can support Sidonie and her ministry to the women of Burundi, or any of our students, teachers or pastors, please click on the donate button below, or mail to info@deafmin.org