Kenyan Sign Language isn't a dialect of ASL. It's its own language, with its own grammar, its own culture, and its own 300,000 speakers. Not a single mainstream app recognises it. Ishara changes that — using nothing but the camera on the phone you already own.
Google built sign language recognition for ASL. Apple built it for ASL. Every research lab focuses on ASL. Kenyan Sign Language — spoken by hundreds of thousands of people — isn't on any roadmap. It's not profitable enough. It's not large enough. It doesn't matter enough to them.
A Deaf patient walks into a county hospital. There's no interpreter. They can't explain their symptoms. The doctor can't take a history. Treatment becomes guesswork. This happens every day across Kenya.
A Deaf child in a mainstream school has a teacher who doesn't sign. The learning gap starts on day one and compounds every year. By Form 4, most have been left behind by a system that never heard them.
Try getting a Huduma number, filing a police report, or navigating a county office when you sign and nobody else does. Access to public services depends on having a hearing person with you.
That's Ishara. Point your phone's camera at someone signing. Ishara recognises the signs and translates them to text in real time. No app to install — it runs in the browser. No internet required — the AI model runs entirely on your device. No subscription — it's free.
The technology to do this has existed for years. It just hasn't been built for KSL because nobody with the resources thought it was worth doing. We disagree.
A Deaf woman signs her symptoms to her phone's camera. The doctor reads the translation on screen. For the first time, she gets an accurate diagnosis without needing someone else to speak for her.
A Deaf student signs their response. The teacher's phone translates it. The student participates in class for the first time — not through a written note passed forward, but in real time, in front of everyone.
Most hearing parents of Deaf children never learn to sign fluently. Ishara on a phone sitting on the dinner table means the child's signs become words the family can read. Conversation, not silence.
In a meeting, a Deaf employee signs their idea. The laptop camera picks it up. The room reads the translation on the shared screen. Their contribution enters the conversation at the same speed as everyone else's.
No app store. No download. No account. Open the page in any modern browser — phone, tablet, or laptop.
Ishara uses your device's camera to watch for signs. The AI model downloads once and runs locally — nothing is sent to a server. Ever.
Signs are recognised in real time and translated to text on screen. Works offline once the model is loaded. Works on any device with a camera.
Because the people who need this most can't afford to fill their phone's storage. A browser tab is free. A 200MB app is not.
Because Deaf Kenyans live in the same places everyone else does — including places where Safaricom doesn't reach. The model runs on-device after first load.
Because requiring an email address to access a communication tool is a barrier for people who were excluded from the tools that require email addresses.
Because charging for accessibility is charging people for the right to be understood. The model is open. The hosting is free. The cost is our time, and that cost is already paid.
Ishara is in active development. If you work with the Deaf community in Kenya — as a teacher, healthcare worker, interpreter, or advocate — we want to build this with you, not for you.