Deaf and dumb and at the pinnacle of varsity career

• The disease made him completely deaf and also robbed him of his speech ability.
• His appointment at Moi University made him the first deaf lecturer in Kenya.
• In the US, life took another turn for the better; for the first time in his life, he was given an interpreter

In 1976, he moved to Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, which is an institution for the handicapped and admits students from different parts of the world.

He ultimately became the third deaf African and first East African to acquire a doctorate degree. The other two are West Africans.

“Although I am happy about my achievement, there would be more people with the equivalent of my qualifications or even better had they been given the necessary support in their academic endeavours,” he points out.

He enrolled for his masters degree in education administration, psychology and special education at the same university. In 1980, he completed his PhD studies in the same discipline.

After graduation, he took up a teaching job at his former high school in Tennessee, and later moved to Gardner-Webb University, North Carolina.

It might have not been easy competing with normal students, says Dr Ndurumo, but it was precisely this challenge that gave him the inspiration to exert himself and do the best he could in life.

“I always compared myself with others so as to know how I was faring,” he says.

“Although I realised my limitation, I did not allow it to hinder me from excelling in those activities which I felt I could do equally with other people,” he says with a touch of smug satisfaction.

He returned home in 1982 and joined the Kenya Institute of Education as a curriculum developer. He was charged with the task of developing a curriculum for special education and training for teachers.

He gradually rose to become a senior principal and head of special education at KIE.

After 22 years with KIE, the desire for a fresh challenge saw him resign his job in 2003 for a teaching one at Moi University where he was put in charge of the department of educational psychology. 

His appointment made him the first deaf lecturer in Kenya.

“Teaching was my first love,” Dr Ndurumo says. “I enjoy sharing my knowledge with students. I find it very enlightening. To me, everyday is a learning day and that is what life is all about.”

Although he says he enjoys his new job very much, it is not without challenges. Given that he is teaching normal students, communication is one such challenge.

“It becomes difficult sometimes to communicate effetively with the students since they do not understand sign language,” he says.