Rev. Fr. Martin Mary Oyo is a Ugandan hearing Catholic priest from the Diocese of Lugazi, situated in Lugazi Municipality, with a very strong desire to minister to the Deaf community.

His love and commitment to this community led him to do a professional Sign Language Interpreting course at Kyambogo University in Uganda, which enabled him to learn Uganda Sign Language (UgSL), and he now uses it to teach the faith to Deaf and Hard of Hearing people through catechesis, deliver homilies or sermons in Sign Language, celebrate the Eucharist/Mass in Sign Language, and administer Sacraments.

Seeing the lack of sign language interpreters in many Catholic churches, Fr. Martin founded Basirika Sign Language Interpreters (BSLI) to meet this need by providing sign language interpreters in Catholic churches at Mass and other liturgical celebrations, thereby promoting accessibility and inclusion for Deaf Catholics in the country.

However, the mission of BSLI goes well beyond the boundaries of the Catholic Church. In order to promote a more accepting and caring society for all Deaf people, irrespective of their religious beliefs, the organization works to improve accessibility and inclusion in a variety of activities and contexts.  

We encourage the public to join us in supporting the admirable goal of accessibility and inclusiveness, which BSLI is working relentlessly to advance. Your assistance—whether in the form of cash, supplies, or volunteer labor—will go a long way toward empowering Deaf people and fostering an inclusive society. Let us unite in our support of BSLI and work to improve the lives of the Hard of Hearing and Deaf. We can all benefit from a more compassionate and inclusive world if we work together to break the communication barriers in our society.