Andrew Miller is the International Director for DMI. When he’s not eating prawn chips in Osaka, he’s travelling around the world raising funds and DMI’s profile in developed countries or visiting the fields we support to see what’s needed and how our funds are being managed. Either way, he works tirelessly to avoid unidentifiable food and meets lots of weird and wonderful people who he just can’t resist interviewing…

#21 Kathi

Kathi Kitao is an American lady who has spent most of her life in Japan. One of DMI’s biggest supporters, she has made a huge impact on the lives of the Deaf through faithful prayer, generous giving and seemingly inexhaustible energy. A humble lady, her story worth is worth shouting from the rooftops.

Andrew: How did you first get involved with DMI?

Kathi: I was a close friend of Alayne Madore, who was the chair of the DMI Japan board, and she often talked about DMI, so for many years, I was aware of the good work that DMI was doing. When my husband passed away 11 years ago, I decided to get involved and began to support DMI financially and in other ways. 

When did you first meet Neville and what was your impression?

I think I first met him at DMI’s Ligao school in the Philippines. I was in the Philippines for a separate conference and decided to visit the school. I met Neville there, and I must say, all the rumors were true! He was a man with such a big heart. Unpretentious, kind, generous, and you could tell he had a real heart for the Deaf that he was reaching. He had a beautiful relationship with them, and it was wonderful to see him interacting with them.

You’re an interesting lady. You’re an American who has been living in Japan for many years. How did that come about?

Well, I met a guy… When I was a university student in the United States, I met a Japanese man, and after he returned to Japan, we corresponded – this was back in the days of snail mail. One thing led to another, and I ended up marrying him and moving to Kyoto. That was back in 1980, so I’ve been living here in the Kyoto area for a long time now.

You’ve been one of DMI’s most faithful and generous supporters. What is it about our work that makes you want to give to DMI?

There’s so much need in the developing world, but some of the greatest need is among the Deaf. Some 80% of Africa’s Deaf never receive an education. That means they have no language. Imagine that, not having a language to live and work with, even to communicate with family or make friends! Just knowing that moves me so much and makes me want to help as much as I can. DMI provides an opportunity for people like you and me to make a difference in the lives of these people. Every time I get a DMI newsletter, I’m so encouraged to read about the tangible difference that DMI is making in the lives of the Deaf, not only throughout Africa but other regions as well. I’m blessed to be giving to and through DMI.

So do you…

– But there’s more to it than that. And this is at the heart of it: if it were only providing quality education and employment that would be great, but it’s the fact that DMI introduces the gospel to the Deaf and nurtures them in the faith as well. This also impacts me and, again, why I’m so happy to be supporting DMI’s work.

You funded the micro-loan program that has started hundreds of businesses for the Deaf in our fields. What was your motivation for starting that program?

Yes, this was something that Neville presented to me, and I could immediately see how important it would be. The unemployment rate is high in developing countries, but it’s especially high among the Deaf. It’s very difficult for them to get jobs, much less funding to start their own business. So that’s what we wanted to do. And it’s been really rewarding to see the program take effect and enable so many Deaf to become self-sufficient and able to support their own families, even to be able to employ other Deaf people. 

Are you happy with the results of the program so far?

I know there were some problems in implementing the program – particularly in the early years when we were just starting it up – but some changes in the policies have helped a lot. So yes, I’m gratified with the results of the program. 

And one of the real beauties of this program is that it’s ongoing virtually ad infinitum. 

Exactly. Because these aren’t handouts – they’re loans that are being repaid – so each country that has received funding for this program is able to continually hand out more micro-loans as others are being paid off. It’s a real blessing to be able to contribute to the lives of so many people.

Again, you’re a very generous person. What is your motivation for giving in general?

Well, I’ve been blessed, so it’s a pleasure to pass on the blessings that I’ve received. I mean, God has been so generous to me, how could I not give to others in need? And I don’t just mean materially, I mean spiritually as well. I just feel so blessed on every level by God, and I want the Deaf in developing countries to receive every opportunity that I (and we) can give them for a meaningful, dignified life.

Can you tell us some of the other projects that you’ve supported in DMI?

I’ve funded a few buildings and vehicles.

Don’t be shy. Tell me about them.

I funded the building of several classrooms at the school in Ligao in the Philippines. I can’t remember the timing now, but some of them I think were to replace some of the weak structures that blew down in typhoons. I enjoy dedicating the buildings to family and friends – putting their names above the door frames. A couple of the classrooms I supported in the Philippines I named after my sisters. I enjoy doing that.

I think I helped paint a couple of those classrooms.

There you go. It’s a team effort. 

Have you named any of the buildings after yourself?

Oh, heavens no! Why would I do that?! It would just be too embarrassing. I also funded a couple of dormitories at the school in Lira, Uganda.

Yes, I have to apologise to you again about that, don’t I?

No, you really don’t have to.

But I really had no idea they would name any of the dormitory rooms after me and my wife!

Haha! I know.

You’ve had quite a strong connection to our school in the Philippines. Can you tell us how that came about?

I gave a lot of support to the school in the Philippines just because I had been there. When you meet the people and you see the place, you can’t not have a connection to them and their surroundings. Being there also allows me to hear about needs I might not otherwise be aware of. 

That’s true. It’s one thing to read about a school or a church and the people there, but it’s quite another to go there and actually meet them for yourself and to see and feel the structures, to hear the sounds, and to smell the flora. It can be intoxicating.

Intoxicating to some extent but also a grounding experience. You comprehend the lives of the people we help in ways that you can’t possibly comprehend from a distance. 

That’s why short-term missions can be so powerful. I don’t think anyone goes on a short term mission and comes back unchanged. 

That’s so true. I hope that more supporters would be able to visit DMI schools and churches and see firsthand what DMI does and how it affects the lives of the Deaf.

More recently you’ve been spending two or three months a year in Kenya. Can you tell us what you’re doing there and why?

I first visited the DMI school in Oyugis in 2019 and, again, once you’re there and you meet the people and you get a feel for the place, it becomes a part of you. After I retired two years later, I started going there every year for two or three months, usually May through July, to help in the classrooms, to provide training for the teachers, and just to help out in any way I could. 

But you did more than that. You started a library for them, didn’t you?

Yes, and I was so pleased to do that. Most schools in Kenya – and probably all of Africa – if they have libraries at all they only stock the classroom textbooks, and no student is going to get excited about a classroom textbook. The school in Oyugis didn’t have a library, but they did have an empty room, and I arranged for a carpenter to build shelving and bought some books. We started with about 200 books, and at the moment, I think we’ve got around 2000 books in the library.

That’s fantastic! Are they being read?

Oh yes! Absolutely! I see the kids myself in the library, in the classrooms, out in the playground, deeply absorbed in the books they’re reading.

And you’ve had a hand in the reading program too, haven’t you?

I have a background in extensive reading programs, so I was excited to introduce this to the school, and the students have really taken to reading. It’s been so encouraging to see the reading levels of the students improve. More than that, it’s been a thrill to see the students become readers, even though I’d been told that in Kenya, there is no culture of reading.

But you proved them wrong.

The students proved them wrong. At our school, at least, there’s now a culture of reading. 

That’s fantastic. There’s something else about you that needs to be said. Because the whole time I’ve known you I’ve never seen you not crocheting. You’re like a crocheting machine. You probably crochet your sleep.

I’ve actually done that.

Not surprised! And you’ve been teaching the students in Kenya how to crochet!

Yes, and they love it. And they’re getting really good at it too. They’re even selling some of the items that they make.

It isn’t a little warm in Kenya to be making and wearing crocheted items?

No, it actually doesn’t get that hot, at least not in the Oyugis area. I’m not sure about the Philippines though…

And what’s next for you with regards to DMI and for you personally?

I’d like to keep supporting DMI as much as I can, and I’d like to keep visiting DMI’s fields as much as I can, too. I really enjoy my time volunteering at the school in Kenya every year, and I’d like to continue doing that for as long as they will have me. I would also like to do the same for the students and library at the school in the Philippines, if they’re interested in having me there.

In the meantime, we will get to see you at the conference in the Philippines very soon.

Yes, I’m looking forward to that.

I believe you have a song and dance routine you’ll be giving us at the conference.

That’s news to me. No, I’ll be too busy crocheting!

~

If you would like to join Kathi in supporting our work please click on the button below, go to https://deafmin.org/donate/ or mail me here for more information.