Andrew Foster (educator)


Andrew Jackson Foster was a missionary to the deaf in Ghana, Rwanda and other countries in Africa from 1956 until his death in 1987. In 1954, he became the first Deaf African American to earn a bachelor's degree from Gallaudet University and the first to earn a master's degree from Eastern Michigan University. He soon earned a second master's degree from Seattle Pacific Christian College also in education. He founded Christian Mission for the Deaf African in 1956 and eventually set out for Accra, Ghana, where he established the first school for the deaf on the entire continent of Africa.

Early Life and Education

Andrew Foster was born on June 27, 1925 in the small mining town of Ensley, Alabama. In 1936, when Andrew was about 11 years old, both he and his brother contracted spinal meningitis and subsequently became deaf. Following this, Foster was sent to the Alabama School for Colored Deaf in Talladega, where he received up to a sixth grade education. This was largely due racial segregation still being in effect in Alabama, with laws established that did not allow African Americans to receive more than a sixth grade education. In order to continue his education, Foster moved to Flint, Michigan in 1942, where he attended the Michigan School for the Deaf and was able to receive up to an eighth grade education.
During World War II, Foster spent his days working in auto factories and restaurants, as well as attending night school, throughout Chicago and Detroit. It was only after WWII ended that Foster was encouraged by Eric Malzkuhn, a professor at Gallaudet University, to continue his education by applying there. However, he was rejected several times on account of his race. In 1950, he received a diploma in accountancy and business administration from the Detroit Institute of Commerce, followed by a high school diploma from the American School in Chicago in 1951. It was only after this that Foster was accepted to Gallaudet University with a full scholarship. He was the first African American to attend Gallaudet, graduating in 1954 at the age of 29 with a degree in education. He later went on to receive two masters degrees: one in education from Eastern Michigan University in 1955, and one in Christian Mission from Seattle Pacific Christian College in 1956.

Contributions to Deaf Education in Africa

Foster had felt a calling to be a missionary since his time at Gallaudet. He often visited Washington D.C.'s inner-city neighborhoods, where he would seek out young deaf African American children to serve as a prominent role model in their lives. Through this work, Foster realized his passion for giving black deafs access to communication, education, and the Gospel. In 1956, upon learning that there were only 12 deaf schools in the whole continent of Africa, Foster established the Christian Mission for Deaf Africans, a missionary organization whose goal was to bring education to every deaf African. He began his work in 1956 by convincing school officials to let him use their classrooms after hours to teach the deaf.
After going on a series of speaking tours around America to raise funds for his cause, Foster landed in Accra, Ghana in 1957. Prior to Foster's mission, there were no records of any programs, schools or teachers for deaf Ghanaians -- there was not even a record of a formal signed language in existence in the region before Foster arrived. The cultures Foster encountered in his initial missionary trip were so oppressive to deaf people that parents often hid their children at home or abandoned them altogether if they were deaf. In Ghana he found a public school willing to allow him to use their facility after hours to teach the deaf, and after some months 53 deaf people joined Foster's makeshift program in Accra. This became the Ghana Mission School for the Deaf, the first school for the deaf in West Africa. Foster acted as the school's director until 1965, and during his time there he focused on expanding the size of the school and training individuals to educate his students. By the end of Foster's time directing this school, there were 113 students in attendance, with a waiting list of over 300. As the deaf began to become literate, Foster would supplement their education with trade skills and the Gospel. Foster also convinced existing churches and missions to expand their ministry to include the deaf.
The Ghana Mission School for the Deaf was not the only school Foster established. In 1960, the Ibadan Mission School for the Deaf, or the first Deaf school in Nigeria, was established, followed by two other schools in Enugu and Kaduna. Overall, Foster established 32 churches and mission schools for the Deaf in thirteen nations across Africa. Specifically, he was able to establish schools in Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Chad, Senegal, Benin Republic, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo Democratic Republic, Burkina Faso, Burundi, and Gabon. He established churches for the Deaf in Kenya, Sierra Leone, Congo and Guinea. He also established a training center in Ghana, which eliminated the need to train teachers overseas and instead promoted local staffing of schools for the Deaf. In total, Foster ended up establishing 32 schools for the Deaf throughout 13 African nations.

Personal Life and Death

In 1961, Foster married Berta Zuther, who was also deaf. Together, they raised five children -- Andrew, John, Tim, Dan, and Faith in Ibadan, Nigeria. Foster continued doing fundraising and speaking tours, as well as missionary work, around the world in the latter half of his life. In addition, he established and taught teacher-training courses in both English and French in several countries worldwide.
Andrew Foster died on December 3, 1987, after accepting an empty seat in a chartered Cessna airplane going to Kenya that lost altitude and crashed near Gisenyi, Rwanda, killing all those aboard. On January 26, 1988, old friends and coworkers gathered at Gallaudet's Chapel Hall to celebrate and pay tribute to Foster's life. It was at this service that the National Black Deaf Advocates established an annual memorial award in Foster's name. There were also representatives of the "second generation" of Foster's students at Gallaudet in attendance.

Legacy

Foster's work establishing 32 schools in 13 African countries led to the governments in Ghana and Nigeria adopting and replicating his school systems on a nationwide scale. Additionally, Foster trained a group of deaf Nigerians to run his mission schools in the country. These group of people were coined the Deaf Nigerian Pioneers, and were recorded to have worked to sustain and enhance the Deaf education system throughout Africa. It must also be noted that Foster's dedication to teaching a signed language encouraged previously-running deaf schools in Africa, such as the Wesley School for the Deaf, to adopt similar methods. Ultimately, Foster's work allowed for the use of sign language to grow throughout Africa, increasing opportunities for children throughout the continent.
Foster also changed the lives of many students, who have gone on to do great things today. It was due to Foster's efforts that Gallaudet began welcoming students from Foster's schools in Africa. One student of many who's life was changed by Foster is Seth Tetteh-Ocloo, a student at the Ghana Mission School for the Deaf who followed Foster to Gallaudet after completing his high school education. He went on to earn a master's degree in education from Gallaudet in 1965, as well as doctorates in educational psychology and rehabilitation from Southern Illinois University. He returned to Ghana to work as a rehabilitation officer for the country, and also founded Ghana's second school for the Deaf.
As a result of Foster's efforts, Gallaudet University began accepting students from his schools in Africa, all of which have gone to graduate from University. Because of Andrew Foster's work bringing language and education to Africa, he is considered the "Father of Deaf Education in Africa" amongst members of the Deaf community.

Awards

Deaf Mosaic segment - Episode #404 of the Gallaudet University-produced Deaf Mosaic had a tribute to Andrew Foster.