Rachel Barojo, Customer Experience Executive at Safaricom Shop in Nakuru, has an amazing ability to communicate effectively with hearing-impaired customers.
While on duty, her mastery of sign language is evident in her facial expressions, and the focused gestures she makes with her hands and fingers, all of which indicate a level of professionalism usually associated with formal training.
But interestingly, what sets her apart is that she honed this skill not through formal classes, but through her genuine love for language, which she develops through extensive interaction with the hearing-impaired community.
Parojo’s journey is made even more inspiring by the personal challenges she faced as she was born with right hemiplegia, a condition that causes muscle weakness on the right side of her body.
In an interview, she acknowledged accepting his part of her life and that her compassionate nature extends beyond her own experiences, as she is accommodating to anyone with a disability, believing that they belong to her community and should be served regardless of the challenges involved.
Her resilience was evident from a young age when she faced exclusion from her peers at a public school in Nyeri County because of her condition.
Instead of giving in to negativity, she decided to turn this adversity into an opportunity, and focus on her studies and excelling in her exams.
“Children will always be children, even though I did not understand them at the time, now I completely understand why they reacted to me. Again, I am rather grateful to them, because they gave me a chance to focus on my books and do well in exams. his mom.Africa.
This early experience shaped Barrojo’s perspective and strengthened his deep commitment to serving individuals with disabilities.
She explains that her belief is that anyone facing such challenges belongs to her community, and that she is willing to help them, regardless of the obstacles.
Her journey into sign language began in 2018 while working as a volunteer at Fountain Gate Church in Ngara, where she served as the office manager.
During a church conference, she met a deaf woman in the registration office, and despite her initial inability, she remembered a church member and friend who was a sign language interpreter.
Helping that friend sparked Barrojo’s interest in sign language, and she decided to learn more about it.
In 2019, she joined Safaricom and worked in Nakuru as a Customer Experience Executive.
The company provided opportunities for employees to receive sign language training, a one-day session that provided Barrojo with basic communication skills.
An important encounter occurred two months later when Martin Njoroge, a hearing-impaired customer, visited the Safaricom store.
With her limited knowledge of sign language, she communicated with Martin by finger-spelling each letter, resulting in a successful interaction.
“For me, this was a baptism by fire! Even though it took a long time, I was satisfied because I had accomplished something at the end of the day,” Barrojo recalls in the interview.
Her dedication did not go unnoticed, as her boss secretly recorded the interaction and shared the video, which led to her being hired as a sign language interpreter at the Nakuru Safaricom store.
Despite her competence, Barrojo does not intend to look for a job translating sign language, stressing that her goal is to help those who cannot communicate verbally.
While she plans to enhance her knowledge of sign language through formal education, she remains committed to her career in data engineering.
Her passion is to help the hearing-impaired community, and she finds joy in their openness and honesty.
“They are the coolest people I know. Straight to the point and hardly lie. Whenever I’m having a bad day, I choose to look up any of my deaf friends and just chat with them,” she said.
Mercy Mwanga, Barojo’s supervisor, praised her exceptional skills, saying she is making an impact by gaining more trust from customers, especially people with disabilities.
As a passionate advocate for sign language, I have always been drawn to the power and beauty of communication through movement and expression. This passion has driven me to excel in my role at Safaricom, where I have been able to utilize my expertise in sign language to enhance communication and accessibility for all customers, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing. My dedication to promoting inclusivity and understanding through sign language has not only allowed me to excel in my work at Safaricom, but it has also brought me immense fulfillment in knowing that I am making a positive impact in the lives of others.