Andrew Foster Essay

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Andrew Foster was a teacher, missionary, and pioneer, He dedicated his life to helping Deaf people learn ASL, and working to assure that Deaf people in Africa had access to education. He was passionate about helping the less fortunate, and felt compelled to go to Africa to do mission work. He stated in some of his writings that he was, “moved by this vast educational and spiritual void among my people.” Andrew Foster was born in June of 1925 to Wiley and Veline Foster. They lived in Ensley, Alabama, where his father worked as a coal miner. He did not become Deaf until the age of 11 when he and his younger brother were stricken with spinal meningitis, leaving both of them Deaf. He learned ASL at the Talladega School for the Colored Deaf, …show more content…

Foster moved to Flint, Michigan where he lived with his aunt and attended Michigan School for the Deaf through the eighth grade. After he finished school there, Andrew worked odd jobs and took nigh classes and correspondence courses to further his education. In 1950 Andrew Foster earned his diploma in accountancy and business administration from the Detroit Institute of Commerce. He earned his high school diploma through correspondence courses in 1951, when he was 26 years old. In 1951 Andrew Foster became the one of the first three Colored Deaf people to be admitted to Gallaudet University, in Washington D.C. He was also awarded a full scholarship to attend Gallaudet. He became the first Black Deaf student to graduate from Gallaudet in 1954. He graduated with a degree in education. While he …show more content…

Berta was from Germany and she was also Deaf. Together Andrew and Berta had five children, four boys, Andrew, John, Tim, and Dan and one daughter, Faith. With the help and support of his wife, he went on to establish 29 other schools for the Deaf. In all, Andrew Foster opened 31 schools for the Deaf across 13 countries including Ghana, Benin, Congo, Chad, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and

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