To have such laws without the personnel to put them into force is merely to waste paper and ink. My emphasis here is on living. A barrier-free environment does not apply only to architecture. These past days in Zimbabwe we have had talked a lot about hardware, but we have ignored the software side of the issue. Things like sign language and the needs of the non-hearing.
Communication is the biggest impediment to the participation of the non-hearing in society.
Most important is how to enable the non-hearing, who have an equal right to knowledge as all other people, to have access to all information, even though they do not hear the spoken word. In Taiwan every year we organize sign language training conferences for elementary school students. This is done in cooperation with neighborhood schools and parish churches. We teach the students some basic sign language and introduce them to other sorts of disabilities. The result has been positive.