By
Christopher Ambe
It
is just a matter of decision by parents of deaf children and society as a whole
and the future of deaf children will be bright. Yet, not enough is done to give
the best, in terms of education and support, to this category of people in
Cameroon.
And
that is where Mr. N’jok Bibum Aloysius,
himself a Cameroonian deaf, makes the difference: he, with the full support of
his British deaf wife, Margaret Lioyd Bibum,
founded the Buea School for the Deaf (BSD) in 2003. The wife became deaf at the age of two but got
educated up to university level.
According to Mr. N’jok, who doubles as founder
and BSD director, “The primary objective of the school is to provide quality
education opportunities to deaf children”
BSD,which
is registered under the Ministry of Social Affairs (Reg. No.
0005/A/MINAS/DDHPA/SDRPH/04 July 2007), is a private lay boarding school for
deaf children. The school, located in
Wokoko, Buea, in the South West Region of Cameroon has an enrollment of only 114 pupils and
students.
It
is a fact that, there are just so many other deaf children out there who need
to be empowered; but due to ignorance or the weak financial power of their
parents, they stay at home.
Of the 114 BSD boarders, 54 (28 boys and 26
girls) are in the primary section. The secondary section has 27 boys and 22 girls,
giving a total of 49 students.
The
current school programmes are Primary, Secondary and Vocational. The Vocational Section, which is in the
development phase, has six boys and five girls giving a total of 11 students. BSD has staff strength of 30
Why Deaf Children Need Greater Support.
Mr.
N’jok , who became deaf at the age of six and now holds amongst other academic
qualifications, a BSc degree in Accounting and Economics from the Gallaudet
University(USA),regrets that the situation of deaf children in Cameroon is very
bleak.
“There
are no government schools for the deaf as can be found in other countries, including
in Africa,” he notes.
 |
| Students of Buea School for the Deaf: They need more public assistance |
The
Founder/ Director continue: “There are no support services for parents of deaf
children. Once a child is perceived to
be deaf, it becomes the responsibility of parents to seek intervention services
which involves seeking a school for their deaf child.
“Parents of deaf children need much support
and counseling in order to be able to cope with raising a deaf child. There is
also the barrier of communication for the family with a deaf child. Because of the child’s inability to hear, the
child communicates most effectively through Sign Language. However, it is often difficult for parents to
learn sign language. Many times family
members are not interested in learning sign language which leaves the deaf
child in the terrible situation of not being able to function normally in
family life, often missing out on crucial information.
BSD Challenges
The
challenges for a small institution such as the BSD in providing a comprehensive
education to deaf children and youths that will enable them to integrate into society
are monumental and complex.
To begin with, learning and mastering
the English language which is fundamental to success in our educational system,
is made difficult because deaf people communicate in Sign Language. Sign Language and English both have different
word order structure.
·
School fees are the major source of
operating the school but these are insufficient. “Even though our school fees
are low compared to most boarding schools, the majority of parents are either
too poor or are reluctant to pay all their school fees,” N’jok says. “Parents lack the choice of sending their
children to a private school or government school. Recognizing this problem, we make every effort
to ensure that the child stays in school by soliciting sponsorships in and out
of the country”
Deaf education is expensive due to the
fact that the size of a class has to be kept small for effective communication
(a maximum of 10 students is preferable)
and requires the use of teaching equipment that enhances visual learning.
Deafness is a “hidden” disability which
leads to much misinformation and ignorance about the needs of the deaf
child. “Society needs to be aware of the
nature of deafness and how it impacts the deaf child or adult. There should be more awareness and provision
of opportunities for deaf people”, he notes.
Important Expectations.
·
Government Educational Support for deaf
children. Local Councils and Mayors
should support the education of deaf children from their localities by
allocating budget to subside school fees.
·
The different Ministries should provide subventions to
existing deaf schools to enable them to meet the operating costs of their
institution.
·
The GCE Board should recognize and
accommodate deaf candidates as they do in other countries by allowing sign
language interpreters into the examination halls, give more time to deaf
candidates, etc.
·
Parents of deaf children should make
effort to learn Sign Language so that they can communicate with their deaf children.
·
The Government should support efforts to
develop and have Cameroon Sign Language (CSL) recognized as in other countries
such as Uganda, South Africa.
·
Businesses should give opportunities to
deaf people in their workplaces.
BSD 200-bed Capacity Dormitory
Inaugurated
A befitting
200-capacity dormitory for the Buea School of the Deaf (BSD) has been
inaugurated, putting to rest the accommodation problems pupils and students of
this institution faced in the past.
Fon Asongtia Valentine, Southwest Regional
Delegate for Social Affairs, on January 20, 2015, inaugurated the one-storey dormitory,
which is estimated to have cost over 100 million Fcfa
The hall of
residence has been realized thanks to funds from friends of BSD in the USA and
Canada. The major donors after whom the building is named are Diane and
Theodore Johnson from the USA.
 |
| Fon Asongtia unveiling the plaque on the dormitory wall |
The
dormitory was constructed by Contractor Aji Jude of BA JUCAM E P, Buea, who
said the project was supposed to be realized in six months but due to liquidity
problems it finally took two years to be completed.
The school
started in a rented building in Bomaka-Buea before moving to its present site
at Wokoko.It emerged that BSD started without a dormitory, reason why in the
night classrooms were transformed into bedrooms for the young scholars.
Speaking
during the ceremony, BSD Director, Aloysius Bibum said “Today is a happy day
in the life of this institution, for after 10 years of its existence we are
opening our dormitory”.
The Director
was very thankful to the donors and commended the patience of the Contractor
who tolerated delay in his payment. Mrs.Bibum Margaret, who is Head of
Instruction at BSD, was also very thankful to God for the realization of the dormitory
project. “Everyday, I always thank God for helping us “, she said.
 |
| Back view of the 200-bed capacity hall of residence. |
In his speech, Fon Asongtia said the dormitory
was a “dream come true”. He commended BSD for being one of the only two schools
in the Southwest Region catering for deaf children. He disclosed that the Ministry
of Social Affairs has rated BSD as one of the best in the country in terms of
promoting deaf children’s education/welfare.
The Delegate noted that if far away partners can be concerned about the
welfare of Cameroonian deaf children, then there is every reason for Cameroon
to be more supportive of its less privileged citizens.
BSD Girls’ Senior
Prefect Emilien Keafoun, who spoke on behalf of the pupils and students,
admitted that the dormitory was quite spacious and comfortable a place.
She
praised the donors and the BSD founders for their sustained efforts to
brighten
their future.
For his
part, an elated PTA president Arrey Ndip pledged to donate beds to the school.
Dignitaries
at the inaugural included Nkwelle Jerry Ewang, Director of the Rehabilitation
Institute for the Blind (Bulu Blind Centre,Buea)
The Inaugural
ceremony, which was coordinated by BSD Public Relations Officer,Gloria
Okumo,ended well.
(First Published in The RECORDER Newspaper,Cameroon, of February 2,2015)
No comments:
Post a Comment