Mexican teen develops app to help deaf sister communicate

Guadalupe Estrella Salazar Calderon, 17, who is developing a sign-language translation app to connect Mexican Sign Language (MSL) speakers and interpreters with hearing users, poses for a photo at her house in the municipality of Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico December 30, 2021. REUTERS/Luis Cortes

NEZAHUALCOYOTL, Mexico (Reuters) - Estrella Salazar, a 17-year-old science whiz from a working-class town near Mexico City, was inspired by her sister to develop an app to help deaf and hard-of-hearing Mexicans communicate more easily.

Salazar's older sister, Perla, was born with a rare disorder that affects mobility and hearing, called MERRF syndrome. The 25-year-old has undergone close to a dozen surgeries followed by years of physical therapy, and was told by one sign language school that she would be unable to learn to sign due to her condition.