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The Blind Side: Disability and Development in Ghana

Think Africa Press
Helping Ghana's disabled could provide economic as well as social benefits.
ARTICLE | 3 JANUARY 2012 - 12:25PM | BY PAUL CARLUCCI

People in the street market in Kumasi, by Petr Kosina.

Accra, Ghana:

You see them scattered all across Accra: the disabled of body or mind, blind and begging in traffic, paralysed and lying on the sidewalk. These people are some of Ghana’s estimated 2.5 million disabled, themselves part of the world’s one billion, 80% of whom are thought to live in developing countries like this one.

Not only do they represent a human rights disaster, but also a serious impediment to socio-economic development. This at a time when Ghana is considered, however controversially, to be a lower-middle income nation and whose oil sector is expected to fuel double digit economic growth.

The link between disability and poverty has been stressed by civil society groups and international bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Bank, even if quantifying the connection remains a tricky business. Disabled people experience enormous challenges when it comes to accessing education, employment, and healthcare. Accordingly, disability should be viewed through the lens of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), a point recognised in the UN’s 2010 MDG report, which called for policies and actions specifically addressing disability.

Left unchecked, the problem multiplies. As they stand, Ghana’s disability laws are failing its people and hindering the country’s development. The Persons with Disabilities Act (PDA) has not been wholly implemented, and the Mental Health Bill (MHB) has been in parliamentary limbo for years.

Ghana’s legal context
In 2006, after four years of habitual dithering, Ghana passed the PDA.
Advocates like the Ghana Federation of the Disabled (GFD), which is composed of six disability organisations, were optimistic, but, five years later, few of the bill’s provisions have been enacted. Disabled people acknowledge incremental change but say their lives are mostly the same.

On paper, the PDA builds on the country’s 1992 constitution, which has eight provisions guaranteeing the rights of the disabled. A year after passing the act, Ghana signed but has not ratified the Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which also supports the PDA.

The PDA ostensibly delivers social, cultural and civil rights to the country’s disabled. An umbrella provision guarantees dignity in social, political, cultural, recreational, and creative pursuits. Subsequent provisions promise job training, employment, an accessible built environment, accessible transportation, free healthcare, protection from discrimination, and a National Council on Persons with Disability (NCPD).

A 10-year transition period was built into the law. And the GFD says much of the built environment remains unchanged, so much so that the remaining five years are unlikely to be enough to update infrastructure in time. The situation is epitomised by Accra’s ministries district, where government departments mark their central locations: only one of the ministries is accessible. Complicating the issue is WHO’s finding that 75 - 80% of Africa’s approximately 81 million disabled live in rural areas. The idea of manoeuvring a wheelchair - or maybe just some plywood with castors - down one of Ghana’s country roads is a daunting one.

Earning a living
There are also complaints about employment. The government says it’s addressing the issue with tax incentives for employers who hire disabled staff, training programmes, and community-based rehabilitation, which trains participants with local resources. But few disabled people, even those with good jobs, think these advances are adequate. They describe a reality of mostly inaccessible workplaces, discriminatory employers, and uneducated job-seekers, many of whom wind up relying on family for financial support.

That kind of support can strain families, and society at large for the expenditures associated with disability are extensive. Food insecurity is often experienced by developing world families with disabled members, and crime springs eternal from that kind of poverty.

According to the World Bank, research linking disability to economics is mostly undertaken in developed countries. There are few reliable figures for Africa. However, the Martin Prosperity Institute, a Canadian think tank, says that country’s province of Ontario misses out on $4.8 billion a year due to the marginalisation of the disabled.

In Ghana, public financial support is supposed to come from local governments, which manage the District Common Funds set up during a 1990s decentralisation exercise. Before the act, 2% of the funds were earmarked for the disabled, but the assemblies seldom transferred the money, claiming the distribution guidelines were unclear. After the act, the NCPD was tasked with writing guidelines, and local governments were told to set up specific committees and accounts. The allotment rose to 3 %. Even still, civil society groups say the transfers are delayed, sporadic, or absent entirely.

The list of grievances is extensive. NGOs say school lack facilities for the disabled, the NCPD is grossly underfunded, and the entirety of the act has been lost in the slow-cooker of Ghana’s bureaucracy.

The mental health bill
People with mental illness in Ghana have scant hope of treatment or recovery. According to WHO, about 650,000 people suffer from a severe mental illness, while another two million have milder disorders. The country has just three psychiatric hospitals, and only a dozen or so psychiatrists. There’s a reported 98% treatment gap, meaning only two of every 100 get medical help. Discarded by their families, many mentally ill people are shunted off to so-called prayer camps, where they endure preposterous conditions and cruel confinement.

In 2004, the MHB was drafted. Seven years later, it has yet to be passed, placing it in the neglected ranks of other potentially emancipatory laws, like the Right to Information Bill, itself in limbo for almost ten years.
The current Mental Health Act dates back to 1972 and focuses on centralised, institutional care, permitting decades of involuntary confinement.

The draft MHB, developed in partnership with WHO, proposes the creation of a Mental Health Service that would operate at the level of primary health care and focus on community delivery. District and regional services would also be established to deliver prevention, treatment, care, rehabilitation, and counselling. The government would have access to private sector facilities, which is what the prayer camps are considered.

The draft sets out parameters for voluntary and involuntary treatment, including standards for food, bedding, sanitation, staff qualifications, and essential medicines. It has further clauses protecting at-risk groups like women and children. Human rights are also addressed, with clauses articulating privacy and autonomy, access to medical records, access to personal money for in-patients, and access to employment and education.

A question of investment
Ghana’s politicians need to view these issues through a development lens, as MDGs or general national priorities. Government expediency is too often a question of elitist political priorities, like last summer’s $3 billion loan from the Chinese, approved at breakneck speed for the oil-producing Western Region. There is no reason the MHB could not be passed with at least a shadow of the same expediency.

Excuses about the high costs of fully implementing the PDA - or, when it is finally passed, the MHB - are flimsy at best, and, when one considers the reported $4 billion lost every year to corruption, those same excuses are just cynical.

Mentally and physically disabled people are human resources in the same way other members of society are. If they live in an environment that promotes their social, economic and civil rights, they will inevitably produce wealth - as consumers, units of taxation, or contributors to development. Implementing protective laws is a simple investment; it is neglecting them that is expensive.

Think Africa Press welcomes inquiries regarding the republication of its articles. If you would like to republish this or any other article for re-print, syndication or educational purposes, please contact:
editor@thinkafricapress.com

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://thinkafricapress.com/ghana/disability-poverty-and-development

Immigration personnel intercepts visually impaired Nigerians at Sogakope

Myjoyonline.com
From: GNA Last Updated: January 5, 2012, 12:30 am

Five visually impaired Nigerians, who claimed they were professional beggars, were intercepted by personnel of the Ghana Immigration Service on board Aflao-Accra bound bus at Sogakope last Monday.

Nura Kasum, 70, Sali Abdul Karim, 70, Abdul Hamidu, 50, Hamadu Rufia, 65, and Tasir Issaku, 60, who were travelling with seven boys, aged between 15 and 20 years, said they were in Ghana to seek greener pastures due to harsh economic conditions in Nigeria.

All the 12 foreigners from Kano State in Nigeria, who spoke only Hausa, have since been handed over to the police at Aflao for investigations.

A source close to the Immigration Service, told the Ghana News Agency(GNA) that the 12 persons came to Ghana through separate unauthorized entry points on the Ghana-Togo frontier individually.

He said the 12 persons finally converged at Aflao and boarded the bus for Accra, but they were prevented from continuing the journey at about 0021 hours at the Sogakope checkpoint.

Mr Daniel Dzansi, Aflao District Police Crime Officer, said Police suspect the presence of the group in the country as the handy work of a human trafficking syndicate, and that the chief of the visually impaired at Sabon Zongo was the likely host of the suspects.

Mr Dzansi said the police would seek an order from the court for the deportation of the 12 persons since they were prohibited immigrants.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://edition.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201201/79301.php

I’ll not allow the disabled to suffer - Taraba gov

Nigerian Tribune
Written by Celestine Ihejirika, Jalingo
Thursday, 05 January 2012

TARABA State governor, Mr Danbaba Suntai, has said the current administration will not fold its arms to see the disabled suffer in silence any longer.

Suntai, who stated this at the workshop organised by the Ministry of Women Affairs on capacity building in respect of skills acquisition for women with disabilities, in Jalingo, said it was honour for the state to be chosen to host such an important event, which would help people with disabilities to be trained on skills acquisition.

Represented by the State Head of Service, Mr Augustine Bazing, the governor explained that disability was an effect of impairment which caused them malfunction.

He said it had been a major problem in the country.

Earlier, the Minister of Women Affairs, Zainab Maina, said the workshop was indeed significant because it made another milestone in the ministry ’s determined effort to address the need for women with disabilities in the country with a view to harnessing great potentials for nation development.

The minister, who was represented by the director for disables of the ministry, Alhassan Tambari, said the ministry being gender sensitive was saddled with the responsibility of developing programmes that projected the social and economic empowerment of women, children and persons with disabilities.

Tambari said women encountered a lot of obstacles and challenges that limited their capability to play active roles in the social economic and political development of the nation.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/33861--ill-not-allow-the-disabled-to-suffer-taraba-gov

Hearing impaired students cannot have education beyond SHS

Vibe Ghana
January 5, 2012 | Filed under: Latest news | Posted by: VibeGhana

People suffering from hearing impairment in the country cannot pursue education beyond Senior High School (SHS), because of lack of logistics to aid their teaching and learning in tertiary institutions.

This compels hearing impaired students to pay for students’ user fees and engage sign language interpreters at their own expense in institutions of higher education.

Mr Samuel Asan, former National President of the Society for the Hearing Impaired, made this known at a National Bible Camp for the Deaf organised by the Church of Christ at Akropong-Akuapem in the Eastern Region on Wednesday.

He said there is only one SHS in the country for people with hearing impairment at Mampong-Akuapem.

Mr Asan said apart from logistics and other needs of the school students are not exposed to lectures in Information, Communication and Technology because the academic facility has no computers to facilitate the process.

Mr Asan noted that the school library is also too small for the students ’ population and therefore appealed to government to reverse the situation. GNA

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://vibeghana.com/2012/01/05/hearing-impaired-students-cannot-have-education-beyond-shs/

Uganda: Govt Phases Out 200 Non-Deaf Students From Mbale School

AllAfrica.com
David Mafabi
11 January 2012

Barely three weeks to opening of the new school academic term, the Ministry of Education has directed the head teacher of Mbale School of the Deaf not to admit non-deaf students.

This means that parents of more than 200 continuing students at the school will have to look for other options.

The move only affects students from Senior One to Senior Three as Senior Four have been allowed to complete the year.

In a December 9, 2011 letter, the Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary, Mr Francis Lubanga, told Mr Paul Washireko that the move is in line with the agreement the ministry made with African Development Bank mission. ADB supports the school.

"This is to reiterate to you our position that the school is meant and should be exclusively for deaf students," the letter reads in part.

The letter says the ministry will continue to provide financial support to deaf students countrywide at the school.

It asked Mr Washireko to formally communicate the decision to the board of governors and PTA to enable them secure free land from incumbrances so that the ministry constructs a seed secondary school for the non-deaf students.

The chairman of board of governors, Mr Dison Wekono, confirmed the development, saying: "We have already secured 10 acres of land which is now readily available, and we are eagerly waiting for the ministry to carry out a survey and construct Makhai Seed Secondary School for the community."

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://allafrica.com/stories/201201110286.html

Disabled Varsity students want admission system streamlined

New Vision
Publish Date: Jan 12, 2012
By Petride Mudoola

Students with disabilities joining Tertiary institutions have asked Government to streamline the admission system to enable them get the courses they qualified for.

Benson Okware, a blind student pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Education at one of the public universities told New Vision that during admission, some of the university authorities tend to change their courses after realizing that the student is disabled.

Okware explained that he was admitted for a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Social Administration (SWASA) but when he reported at the university, one of the administrators changed his course to Education

“When I inquired about the changes, the authorities informed me that I was not capable of pursuing the initial course of admission due to the fact that l am disabled yet it required moving with machines during lectures,” Okware remarked.

According to him, the allocation of courses does not give fair hearing to students with disabilities and that they are forced to give up the better courses they qualified for.

Kyambogo University’s Public Relations manager Lawrence Madete in his responded to the matter saying a student is given a particular course depending on the applicant’s qualification and that if the student has applied and qualifies for the course, the university Senate automatically gives him /her that course regardless of the incapacities.

However efforts to get a comment from Makerere University’s Public Relations Officer were futile as his phone was off.

According to the Universities and Tertiary Institutions Act (2001), students with disabilities at higher institutions of learning are entitled to necessities that include disability allowances, an extra time during examinations, provision of print material in alternative formats like Braille for the blind, audio tape recording, and descriptive video narration for the deaf.

Unlike Makerere, Kyambogo University provides guides for the blind, Braille study materials, sign language interpreters during lectures, use of lamps in lecture rooms, easy accessibility to toilets and provision of wheel chairs.

“Underrating students with disabilities has led to stigma, which has affected their learning ability hence contributed to the high dropout rate among the disabled,” Simon Ochan, a Special Needs teacher attributed.

According to research conducted by the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU), out of the 2.5 million population of persons with disabilities (PWDs), only 2.2% of them have attained formal education.

Okware suggests that more institutions for students with special needs should be established and well equipped to enable disabled learners attain education in order that they can compete favorably on the job market.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/628317-disabled-varsity-students-want-admission-system-streamlined.html

Wenchi gets disabled craft training centre

01月17日 Ghana Broadcasting Corporation

A craft training centre has been established at Wenchi in the Brong- Ahafo Region to assist persons with disabilities to learn vocations.

The Centre named ‘Young City’ was set up by Rural Youth Association of Ghana, an NGO, to help Disable people live a dignified life.

The Executive Officer of the NGO, and a former Member of Parliament for Nkoranza, Madam Theresa Nyarko-Fofie, said the centre offers free tuition and accommodation to trainees and parents of trainees will only be responsible for their feeding.

The centre gives training in carpentry, batik, tie and dye printing, dress-making, hairdressing, bead-making, and baking.

Madam Nyarko-Fofie expressed concern about how some people scorned disabled people and advised parents to help them acquire vocational skills for their self- development.

She deplored negative attitudes of parents who hide their disabled children at home saying the acts puts such children in disadvantaged positions.

GNA

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://gbcghana.com/index.php?id=1.736965

Deaf preacher with gifted hands

The Standard, Kenya
17 Jan 2012

Boniface Okutoyi has an option of picking a tin, sitting at a strategic corner in one of the Eldoret streets and asking for alms.

But the 34-year-old, who is deaf, will not walk that path. Instead he goes out of his way to help needy Kenyans.

For example, during last years Kenyans for Kenya initiative, Okutoyi joined a group of well-wishers to collect food which they distributed to hungry residents of Pokot County.

When there is no such cause, he regularly identifies less fortunate people and uses his own resources to help them. To him, giving is a virtue.

When he rose above his disability, Okutoyi says God has uplifted him to a status he never thought he would get to.

He is today a pastor and counsellor, preaching to the able-bodied and disabled people. He is also a talented carpenter who runs his own workshop in Uasin Gishu County.

"Due to the stigma associated with disabled people, I found staying at home in Butere difficult and finally ran away. That was in 1996 and I became a street boy in Eldoret," he explains his life story.

Being away from his family and anyone he was answerable to, Okutoyi found himself picking bad behaviour in the streets.

"I started engaging in crime, alcoholism and smoking as well as sniffing glue. When I was drunk, I was the one relied on to beat up people in the streets when they refused to co-operate with us," says Okutoyi, through an interpreter, Dickens Owade.

Back then, he was unaware he had talent that would change many people and resigned to his fate, believing society had no place and time for disabled people like him.

"If you would have told me then that I would become a sought-after pastor and talented carpenter, I would have probably beaten you up for deceiving me."

When he was sinking into the depths of the underworld, Okutoyi met Pastor Albert Nasiali who encouraged him to quit street life.

Nasiali says God used him as vessel to reach Okutoyi. "I didn’t know it was his time, the time he was about to turn his life around," says Nasiali.

Quit street life

In the year 2000, Okutoyi returned to Pastor Nasiali who headed a church in Kidiwa, Eldoret town, and sought salvation.

"I quit street life and decided to lead a clean life. I haven’t looked back," says Okutoyi.

Nasiali and other well-wishers immediately enrolled him in a vocational training institute in Eldoret where he learnt carpentry, welding and masonry.

Today, he is a role model to many.

Beautiful products

Five years later, Okutoyi started his carpentry work in Eldoret town and word spread across ridges about the beauty of his products.

"People did not believe that a deaf person would produce such masterpieces. Some even came to just watch me make the furniture from scratch to believe that indeed I had moulded them," he says.

Okutoyi’s sofa sets, dining tables, school chairs and desks, wall units, wardrobes, stools and beds fetch him a good income.

It is not hard for him to communicate with his clients and grasp exactly what they want him to do for them.

"An interpreter makes it easy. Also, some customers use a little sign language which I understand. With others, we write down what we want to express. I am used to it," he says.

While we are still at the workshop in Ainabkoi, a teacher comes to check progress of his sofa set which Okutoyi is making at Sh30,000.

Eunice Rop believed in Okutoyi’s dream of becoming a preacher and learnt sign language to be his interpreter.

"Whenever he is called to preach, we accompany him and interpret for him. He touches people’s lives with his ministry despite his handicap and we thank God for him," says Rop.

We met him and Rop preaching at Kessup Girls’ High School in Keiyo North District. Rop is also the school’s Christian Union patron.

"She and others like Jack Chelagat and his wife understand me and my messages. Apart from interpreting for me, they also support my ministry," says Okutoyi, who is unmarried as he is waiting "upon God to give me a good wife".

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=2000050242&cid=4

Reprieve for deaf patients as nurses training launched

SATURDAY NATION,
January 17 2012

A 28-year-old expectant woman in her final trimester experiences a gush of pain in her belly.

Her brother hires a taxi and takes her to the nearest health centre.

At the hospital she gets frustrated as she tries to explain to the staff the nature of the pain in her abdomen.

Doctors and nurses are tongue-tied, literally, and admit her on assumption that labour contractions have began.

In the maternity ward, she reaches out to one of the nurses on duty and gestures at her stomach.

The attending nurse cannot interpret the signal. The young mother signals again. This mother-to-be is deaf and illiterate.

Ms Fatuma Ngoto, a nurse at Coast General Hospital, vividly remembers the events of this day five years ago while on duty at the maternity wing.

“The devastation in her eyes as I tried to decode the message is something I will never forget,” Ms Ngoto explains.

Abdominal pains

However, one of the support staff at the hospital was conversant in basic Kenyan Sign Language and came to her rescue.

“Through the interpreter she explained that she was experiencing sharp abdominal pains and the baby had not kicked that day,” Ms Ngoto says.

With this information the nurse called the doctor in charge and the expectant woman was booked into theatre where she underwent a successful Caesarean section.

“Today the child is healthy and attending kindergarten but I developed a desire to learn Kenyan Sign Language (KSL),” she says.

Sign language uses a system of manual, facial, and other body movements as the means of communication, especially among deaf people.

Ms Ngoto’s dilemma is replayed in most hospitals as the deaf seek health services.

Despite health being a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution, communication barrier is rife.

Article 43 (a) of the Constitution under the Bill of Rights guarantees every person the highest attainable standard of health.

However, the situation is bound to improve if a plan to train nurses in basic sign language by the Department of Nursing under collaborative efforts of the ministries of Medical Services and Public Health takes off successfully.

Ms Ngoto is one of the health workers currently enrolled for the pilot training programme to improve health worker-patient relationship.

Currently, 21 nurses - nominated by the Department of Nursing - are learning the skill at the Kenyan Sign Language Research Project (KSLRP) at the University of Nairobi for one year.

In an interview with the Nation, chief nursing officer Chris Rakuom notes that the communication hurdle has denied deaf persons a chance to seek services in the country’s hospitals.

“Nurses play a crucial role in health education and are in contact with patients most of the time thus the need to train them in the Kenyan Sign Language skills,” Mr Rakuom explains.

He adds: “Lack of awareness of existence of these services among health care providers sometimes results in involvement of family members in consultation, which raises ethical concerns at different levels for example violation of patient rights or poor interpreting services from unqualified family members.”

When the Nation visited the KSL classes at the University of Nairobi lecture halls, the nurses were optimistic that the skills acquired would bridge the gap in provision of health services.

The nurses are drawn from Nakuru, Kakamega, Embu, Coast, Machakos and Nyeri provincial hospitals while others are from Kiambu, Siaya and Webuye district hospitals.

The training is sponsored by the National Council for Persons with Disability.

Vital skills

Ms Violet Kanusu, a mental health nurse at Webuye District Hospital, says the skills will help her handle her patients, four of whom are deaf.

“Prior to the training, waving was the only sign I knew and I relied heavily on writing on a piece of paper to communicate with the patients,” Ms Kwanusu says.

Lecturers from Nairobi, Kakamega and Machakos medical training colleges are also part of the KSL training.

Discussions are underway to integrate basic sign language into the medical training curriculum.

Article 54 (1d) of the Constitution under the Bill of Rights states that a person with disability is entitled to “use sign language, braille or other appropriate means of communication”.

Mr. James Mwisa, a lecturer at Machakos Kenya Medical Training College, terms the initiative timely in addressing the problem of relations with the deaf.

“This course will assist me deal with any deaf student and also impart basic KSL skills on the hearing students,” Mr Mwisa said.

Kakamega Medical Training College currently has a second year deaf student, who learns through lip reading and copying notes from colleagues.

Lip reading, or speech reading, is a technique of understanding speech by visually interpreting the movements of lips, face and tongue of the person speaking.

The nurses, who have been granted a one-year study leave, are studying for nine months and will be expected to undergo a three-month internship at deaf schools before returning to their work stations.

The course began last September and the nurses are expected to graduate in September this year.

Mr Rakuom says the initial goal is to train a considerable number of nurses per county in the next five years.

“They may not be enough to serve the entire county due to budget constraints but this is a step in the right direction,” he adds.

Ms Phanice Khayele, a nurse, says the training will help her handle deaf patients and their families better.

“It was difficult communicating with a deaf patient so most of the time we resort to administering the prescribed drugs to in-patients in the wards,” she points out.

According to the Kenya Deaf Resource Centre website, deaf Kenyans are considered to be more vulnerable to contract HIV due to low education levels, lack of access to information and lack of awareness on reproductive health.

“They interact everyday with the patient so the skill will ease some of the barriers that have existed,” notes Mr Rakuom.

Ms Faith Kiruthi, a nurse, was trained a year ago in a trial project and currently gets invitations to interpret in hospitals, health conferences and during public health campaigns.

“Some of my deaf expectant friends request me to accompany them for their antenatal clinics so they can understand the information communicated,” she says.

Access to medical care

According to Ms Kiruthi, lack of sign language knowledge and other alternative communication systems make access to medical care a frustrating experience for deaf persons.

Mr Washington Akaranga, KSLRP coordinator at the University of Nairobi, says the project will reduce the anxiety among the deaf whenever they visit hospitals.

“Deaf people fear going to hospital for fear of being ignored, queuing for a long time until an interpreter can be found or a misdiagnosis when they eventually see the doctor,” Mr Akaranga told the Nation through an interpreter.

He explains his ordeals while seeking treatment in most hospitals in the last three decades.

“I resorted to writing my symptoms on a piece of paper but this did not help much,” Mr Akaranga added.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Reprieve+for+deaf+patients+/-/1056/1309220/-/iyw36iz/-/

Kenya: Special Needs Union Calls for Upgrade of Schools

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)
17 January 2012

Kenya Union of Special Needs Education Teachers has urged the government to upgrade the special schools to national status.

Secretary general James Torome said if at least one special secondary school is elevated, it will improve education standards of physically challenged students. "The state should consider the idea of upgrading of special schools like the way it recently upgraded over 20 to national schools in the country," said Torome, who addressed reporters in Narok town yesterday.

He is proposed upgrading of Thika High School for the Blind, Rev Muhoro High for the Deaf, Ngara High for the Deaf, Joy Town, Mumias High and others. Torome asked the government to consider increasing the number of talent academies. "The eight academies are not enough to cater for the needs of over 200,000 pupils who are excelling in other fields other than academics," he said.

He advised Teachers Service Commission to post more specialist teachers to the talent academies and increase the intake into the Kenya Institute of Special Education. Torome said special infrastructure should be put in place to cater for the special needs of the pupil with physical challenges to enhance easier learning. "Therefore the government should consider increasing incentives in these special schools for adequate structuring and special diets," he said The secretary general asked Education Ministry to rank best performed students who are physically challenged in national examinations. "If the state will rank them differently according to their status, it will make it easy for those who are from poor background to secure sponsorship,' said Torome. Torome said that as entrenched in the new constitution, all children are entitled to education hence the government should chip in every possible way to see that children with disabilities are supported to live a successful life. He said appealed for the reduction of fees for all children with disabilities so that a good number of them can get equality education.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://allafrica.com/stories/201201180126.html

When UPS put smiles on faces of the underprivileged

Nigerian Tribune
Written by Qudirat Hakeem-Apampa
Thursday, 19 January 2012

>From left, Administrator, Mr Cyprian Oraetoka; Director, Christian

Mission for the Deaf Nigeria, Ibadan, Engineer Emmanuel Ilabor receiving cheque from Regional Manager West, UPS Nigeria, Ring Road, Ibadan and Account Executive, Oyo and Osun Territory, Mr Gbenro Oseni during the press briefing on special funding held at school premises, Onireke, GRA Onireke, Ibadan. Photo: Alolade Ganiyu.

ATES and management of the Christian Mission for the Deaf, Ibadan could not hide their joy when on Wednesday, January 4, 2012, the Regional Manager (West) of the Universal Parcel Service (UPS), a courier service company donated through a cheque, the sum of $27,224, (about N4.2Million) to the institution to build a new dormitory for the inmates.

The Christian Mission for the Deaf Centre has been in existence since 1972 to train deaf Africans and was established by late Dr Andrew Jackson Foster who was a black deaf African-American Missionary and educator, but after his demise, Mr Emmanuel Ilabor took over the running of the place.

The centre aims to empower and train deaf boys and girls in vocations and academics, in order to reduce bondage, street begging, illiteracy, poverty, hunger and all manners of joblessness for deaf people in our society irrespective of their ethnic or religious background.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, Executive Director of the centre, Mr Ilabor said the centre already had a permanent site along the Lagos- Ibadan express road and would like to build new dormitory for the inmates, against that backdrop, it was able to intimate the UPS about it sometime ago and they immediately swung into action and to its surprise, the headquarters of UPS in Atlanta Georgia approved and eventually sent the cheque through its Regional Manager (West), Mr Fidel Obiefuna.

The centre striving hard to, make life comfortable for its inmates so that they can live and learn whatever vocation they intend to under a conducive environment that is why it is soliciting support from well meaning Nigerians and corporate organisations across the country so that it can achieve its aims.

Inmates of the home in their bid to express their gratitude to UPS prayed for the success of the organisation across the globe and promised to utilise the fund judiciously.

The UPS is a courier organisation with branches across the globe and 38 centres in Nigeria, and it has made it a point of duty to help the communities where it is based as part of its corporate responsibility to its host community.

Speaking with Nigerian Tribune, the Sales Director of UPS, Mr. Gbenro Oseni explained that “when I was first posted to Ibadan and I had the opportunity of visiting this home, the first thing that came to my mind was how to contribute my own quota through the organisation I work with and fortunately when I spoke to My Regional Manager, Mr. Fidel Obiefuna he sprang into action and we sent a proposal to the headquarters of in Atlanta Georgia and after sometime it was approved and now it is coming to reality”.

According to Mr. Obiefuna, UPS was established in 1951 in Atlanta Georgia and one of its major subsidiary is the UPS foundation which is concerned with impacting on social issues. In support of this strategic approach, the UPS Foundation identifies the following focus areas of giving non-profit effectiveness, economic and global literacy, encouraging diversity, community safety and environmental sustainability..

In 2010, the UPS Foundation distributed nearly $44.6 million about N7.13 billion worldwide through grants that benefits organisations or programmes and provide support for building stronger communities, it is therefore committed to funding impactful programmes that make a meaningful difference in our society.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/features/34550-when-ups-put-smiles-on-faces-of-the-underprivileged

Northern sector Disabled Games scheduled for Tamale

Modern Ghana -
Source: GNA - Ghana News Agency

I HELD YOUR HAND, KISSED YOUR LIPS, SHARED YOUR DREAMS AND MORE WERE ADDED.
By: FRANCIS TAWIAH ,

Accra, Jan. 19, GNA - The 5th Disability Games is scheduled for the Northern Sector at the Tamale Jubilee Park on January 26 with a call on the Regional Co-ordinating Councils, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and the public to support the event to make it a success and raise the image of the participants.

The Games, which is under the theme: “Endure to enjoy, London 2012, a must for Disabled Sports”, is being organized by Disability Options, Ghana in conjunction with the National Council on Persons with Disability.

Participants for the Games who are expected from the Northern, Ashanti, Upper East, Upper West and Brong Ahafo Regions are to engage in athletics, Goal Ball, Show-down, tricycle and Javelin among other events.

Madam Anne Doe, Director of Disability Options-Ghana said the Games are meant to draw public attention of the capabilities of the disabled to engage in fruitful activities and when given the chance they can contribute to nation building.

She said the games are also to encourage the disabled to make use of their talents by engaging in sporting activities instead of eking a living on the streets begging or engaging in unproductive activities that are detrimental to their health and well-being.

Madam Doe urged the public to support the disabled in all their activities and lend them a helping hand to live decent lives, adding that “the disabled needs support and encouragement and not to be marginalized or neglected by the society”.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.modernghana.com/sports/372975/2/northern-sector-disabled-games-scheduled-for-tamal.html

Liberia: VP's Wife Rubbishes Allegation of Embezzlement

01月20日 AllAfrica.com
19 January 2012

The Group of '77 has described as false and misleading claims that the institution's Executive Director, Second Lady Kartumu Y. Boakai has misappropriated an estimated one million dollars donated to the Group by the international community.

The Women Voices Newspaper last week quoted a group calling itself the National Coalition of Disabled Persons Organization of Liberia of calling for the dismissal of Second Lady Boakai as Executive Director of the Group of '77 on grounds that she was not only involved in corrupt practices, but was prioritizing certain groups of disabled people, while marginalizing others.

But reacting to the allegation, the Program Officer of the Group of '77, Rev. Constance Kennedy clarified that the Group of '77 has never received any grant in the amount of one million United Dollars. She said contrary to claims by the National Coalition of Disabled Persons Organization of Liberia, which she referred to as a group of 'detractors', most donations coming to the Group of '77 are in the form of materials, and not cash.

"Anyone who knew what the Group of '77 looked like before the Unity Party came to power in 2006 will give the Second Lady a pat on the back for the good work she is doing.

"The Second Lady has genuine concern for the welfare of the disabled.
She has not only transformed the sanitary condition of the Newport Street home of disabled members of the Group of '77, but moved the school for disabled children which runs from Kindergarten to Sixth Grade from a palm thatched building to a modern edifice," Rev. Kennedy explained.

She added that for the first time since its establishment in 1977, the Group now has a clinic where the disabled are given free medical treatment and a tailoring shop where their clothes are not only sewn free of charge, but where interested members of the community are taught tailoring.

"It will be ungrateful for anyone to claim that the Second Lady has embezzled any money. Where is the money to embezzle? Liberians are noted for peddling lies about things they hardly know of," Rev. Kennedy lamented.

She said among other developments undertaken by Second Lady Boakai, is the construction of 40 housing units for disabled members of the Group of '77 in Montserrado County and parts of Nimba County. She noted that the project sponsored by the United States based Samaritan's Purse, has made it possible for the disabled to own their own houses.

Rev. Kennedy also disclosed that under the administration of Second Lady Mrs. Boakai, the Group of '77 has established branches in eight counties.
"There are plans to establish a vocational training center where members of the disabled community will learn any trade of their choice," Rev. Kennedy disclosed.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://allafrica.com/stories/201201190898.html

アフリカNOW第91号「ルワンダに生かされて」筆者のブログ

アフリカの障害者問題をテーマにした卒論

ＪＩＣＡアフリカ研修カントリーレポート発表会

【付記】
JICA「障害者地域メインストリーミング研修」の研修生として、アフリカ仏語圏地域4カ国（セネガル、トーゴ、カーボベルデ、チュニジア）から自立生活研修のため日本を訪れている6名の障害者リーダーと4名の障害分野の行政官が、カントリーレポート発表会を開催することとなりました。

アフリカ仏語圏の障害者のおかれた状況について知る、とてもいい機会です。ぜひご参加ください。

参加をご希望の方は添付の要領でお申し込み下さい。
また、アフリカの障害の問題について、ご興味をお持ちの方をご存知でしたら、ご案内いただければ幸甚です。

Call to improve disabled care

01月23日 Gulf Times

The experts are seen during the discussion By Ross Jackson/Staff Reporter Panellists at the Shafallah International Forum have addressed the issues of caring for people with disabilities during and after natural disasters, as well as policies regarding refugees with disabilities.

Badaoui Rouhban, director of Unesco Section for Disaster Reduction, said that if countries and NGOs don’t invest in disaster preparedness, they ultimately end up paying more in disaster response, usually with the poor bearing the burden as they are less prepared and more vulnerable.

He said disaster preparedness need not be expensive, but a culture of safety needs to be developed in places like Haiti where earthquakes can occur but buildings are not built to a safe standard.

He warned that we are heading towards more natural disasters in the future due to climate change, urbanisation, demographic changes and greater interconnectedness, but greater scientific and technological know-how can help make societies better prepared to take care of people with disabilities during the response.

Panellists agreed that it is also crucial that relief workers and first responders are properly trained to care for people with disabilities, as their conditions are often misunderstood and can lead to conflicts.

Osamu Nagase, Associate Professor for Disabilities Studies at the University of Tokyo, gave the example of a young autistic boy who was reprimanded by a relief worker for trying to take a piece of bread when he could not in fact eat what he was given after last year’s disaster in Japan.

Ronald McCallum, chairman of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities said that there are too few countries willing to take in refugees and asylum seekers with disabilities due to fears of excessive costs. He advocated bringing people with disabilities into the decision making process, both in terms of policy making and practical implementation of those policies on the ground. He said that this would not only make governments and NGOs more responsive to the needs of disabled people, but would also improve their integration into society through education and employment.

Mary Crock, Professor at University of Sydney, said that a review is needed for policies covering disabled refugees, including a review of definitions of persecution and the determining factors for returning them to their place of origin.

In many cases, refugees may have a particular condition where they need specialised care or treatment, such as dialysis, which may not be available at home. Sending them back home would effectively kill them, and so returning them home cannot be the standard policy.

The definition of persecution must also be assessed, as people with disabilities may be in a more fragile condition than a regularly healthy person, and so the threshold for suffering is lower. All of the panellists addressing these issues see the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a step in the right direction, and are awaiting the implementation of the convention by countries that have ratified it.

However, McCallum lamented that ratification and implementation was slow, and not without great difficulty. He encouraged NGOs to file their own “shadow reports” in order to keep international agencies aware of individual countries’ human rights situations. Cherie Blair, who moderated the panel discussion on refugees with disabilities, told the Gulf Times that discussion of these topics was relatively new. “I don’

t think people have really spoken about it much before. It’s an issue that’s both timely and fairly new, and sparking that interest will be a start for both study and detailed policies elsewhere,” said Blair.

She explained that “this seemed to be an area where Qatar could give leadership and really make a difference because it was very underdeveloped. And the fact that since it started, there are more and more examples of where it’s needed, is not simply a coincidence but an inevitability.”

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=482346&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

【付記2】
障害者では、ウガンダのろう連盟の
Florence Nightingale Mukasa さん、
（昨日は、同行の通訳者が病気になり大変でした）
パキスタンのGhulam さん、
インドの新しいDPI議長のJavedさん、
USAIDのCharotte さん、
ハイチのORiolさんー障害大臣などです。

国連事務局の伊東さんも来られています。

First Lady Attends PWD Forum In Doha

Ghana
Monday, 23 January 2012 08:54

Ernestina Naadu Mills, Ghana's First Lady A three day forum on Persons With Disability (PWD) has been opened in Qatar’s capital Doha, with a call on governments and civil society groups to reconsider the major challenges confronting the physically challenged particularly in conflict and crisis situation.

The forum dubbed “Crisis, Conflict and Disability: Ensuring Equality” will focus on the impact of crisis and conditions on persons with disabilities in refugee camps and conflict zones in the Middle East and Africa and how recent natural disasters in Japan, Haiti, Pakistan and the US have affected persons with disabilities.

Ghana’s First Lady, Dr Mrs Ernestina Naadu Mills is among some selected First Ladies across the globe attending the forum.

This is the fifth in the series of International forums hosted by the Shafallah Centre for Children with Special Needs in Doha.

Mrs Naadu Mills during a brief interaction with her colleague First Ladies drew the attention of world leaders to some cultural practices that pose a greater challenge particularly to persons with disabilities.

She called for dialogue among policy makers and traditional authorities to do all they can to remove such practices.

Mrs Mills said these practices can increase the level of marginalisation that persons with disabilities face, especially during crisis and conflict situations.

As part of the forum, Ghana’s First Lady will present the country’s plan for removing the bottlenecks associated with providing equal access and opportunities for all persons living with disabilities.

Source: Office of the First Lady

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/news/general-news/10458-first-lady-attends-pwd-forum-in-doha

Government Urged To Assist Disabled

Ghana
Tuesday, 24 January 2012 14:04

The Here For Perfection (H4P) Crew has called on government, especially the Ministry of Employment and Social welfare, to expedite action on the employment of qualified persons with disability, so that Ghana can benefit fully from the potential of her citizens. Making the call at the launch of the H4P Foundation in Accra, yesterday, the Crew also urged government to make transportation accessible to persons with disability by making available, buses that are disability-friendly.

The H4P Crew, a melo-drama group, believes that disability does not mean inability and, therefore, all qualified disabled persons should be given equal rights and privileges as any other person, as enshrined in the Constitution of Ghana.

The H4P Crew also believes in the perfection of God for nation-building and aims to lift Ghana onto the world stage of melo-drama to attract tourists to the shores of Ghana to explore the many investment opportunities available.

Also key to the H4P agenda is the crusade against malaria, as part which agenda, it distributed almost 2,000 Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) to some residents in Tema, Teshie, Nungua and Labadi- all in the Greater Accra Region- within a year.

According to the group, it was a sad commentary that a curable disease like malaria was wiping the up and coming generations of Africa’s future leaders, hence, their anti-malaria campaign, with a focus on the physically challenged.

In a speech, the Member of Parliament and chairman for the crew, Hon. Gershon Gbediame, commended the crew for their extensive contribution not only the disabled but also to the malaria menace.

He lauded them for striving hard within one year to come this far and not relenting in their efforts in dedicating themselves to nation- building and service to humanity.

Hon. Gbediame noted that the H4P Crew had come to stay and expressed the hope that it would continue to march forward with perseverance and willingness to serve as solution bearers in relation to the campaign against the malaria pandemic in Ghana.

Source: ISD (Tally Ansah Asiedu & Doris Sodjah)

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/news/general-news/10501-government-urged-to-assist-disabled

Engage persons with disability in emergency plans

Bangladesh News 24 hours
Tue, Jan 24th, 2012 11:26 pm BdST

Dial 2000 from your GP mobile for latest news Nurul Islam Hasib bdnews24.com Senior Correspondent from Doha

Doha, Jan 24 (bdnews24.com) -A global conference that ended here on Tuesday called upon the governments to look at persons with disability as a 'cross-cutting' issue in all phases of humanitarian assistance.

Nearly 300 participants from over 50 countries at the fifth Shafallah International Forum recognised that persons with disability are an 'overlooked' population in emergency response.

The three-day forum adopted the 'Shafallah Declaration' which committed to promote the active participation of people with disabilities and disabled persons' organisations in planning, implementation and decision -making processes.

It also emphaised 'evidence-based' research on people with disabilities in crises and conflicts to develop more 'inclusive' programs and policies.

Chairman of the Shafallah Centre for the Children with Special Needs Hassan Ali, in his brief closing remarks, called upon all the participants to make a pledge to adopt the policy. He underscored the need for raising awareness so that people living with disability become part of social planning and disaster response from the beginning.

"The goal is not special treatment, but equal opportunity and access to resources," he said and added that the effort must be comprehensive. "We can change all the laws in the world, but if we don't change attitudes and the hearts of people as well, we cannot achieve true equality."

The chairman at the opening of the forum - regarded as world's foremost on issues related to disability - called upon countries to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

In the Shafallah Declaration it was emphasised that the principals in the Convention should underpin all humanitarian efforts, particularly the principles of non-discrimination, equality and inclusion.

The forum, which brought together First Ladies, policymakers, educators, persons with disabilities and humanitarian relief organisations, discussed and showcased the latest developments in inclusive emergency planning to ensure the protection and safety of persons with special needs during armed conflict, humanitarian crises and natural disasters.

Saima Hossain Putul, the prime minister's daughter who spearheads disability issues in Bangladesh, also joined the forum.

The participants recognised and supported the launch of the '1 Billion Strong', a global campaign dedicated to awareness, right and education of one billion people with disabilities around the world, to garner support from the governments for meaningful implementation of the UN convention.

Aki, the chairman, said it was clear through the discussion in the forum that 'there is a critical need to address the situation facing millions of people with disabilities who endure natural crises and human conflicts, or whose disabilities are the result of such disasters'.

He said the Shafallah will be announcing the formation of many new and fruitful partnerships that began from here this week. "We look forward to your participation in 1 Billion Strong."

Talking to bdnews24.com, Matt Capobianco, director, emergency programme of Global Medic, said countries can achieve the target committed in the Shafallah Declaration, 'if they give it a priority.'

Badaoui Rouhban, director of Unesco Section for Disaster Reduction, in a panel discussion said that if countries and NGOs do not invest in disaster preparedness, they ultimately end up paying more in disaster response, usually with the poor bearing the burden as they are less prepared and more vulnerable.

He advocated bringing people with disabilities into the decision-making process, both in terms of policy making and practical implementation of those policies on the ground.

Afrim Maliqi of Kosovo, who lost his legs two decades ago in a mishap, told bdnews24.com the discussions would help mainstreaming people with disabilities through increased awareness.

"I am ready to lead disaster preparedness planning, if I get opportunity," he declared.

The participants in the Declaration also committed to establish a working group to coordinate and monitor progress on the declaration.

Prince of Jordan Mired Raad Zeid Al-Hussein, also vice-president of the Higher Council for Affairs of Persons with Disabilities, in a grand dinner on Monday said a 'bottom up' approach regarding disability is essential, so too is a 'top down' approach that works in tandem.

He said the UN Convention needs to have 'teeth' to ensure implementation by governments and there are numerous ways in which this can be achieved.

"We must go beyond the regular lip service and commit ourselves sincerely to bring about change."

The prince added that the '1 Billion Strong' campaign launched by Qatar emir's consort Sheikha Mozah is a 'prime example of a bold initiative that deserves a great deal of praise and support.'

bdnews24.com/nih/bd/2244h

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=216769&cid=2

【付記2】同会議のURL
http://www.shafallahforum.org/

Forum focuses on protection of disabled during disasters

01月25日 Gulf Times

HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser attended yesterday evening a dinner banquet held at the Four Seasons Hotel on the occasion of the Fifth Shafallah International Forum. The ceremony was attended by a number of first ladies, guests and participants in the forum. PICTURES: Maher Attar Ross Jackson/Staff Reporter Experts at the Fifth Shafallah International Forum have said that prejudice against and abuse of people with disabilities is alarmingly frequent in disaster-struck areas, although programmes in some countries have made significant contributions to improving the lives and reducing the impact of disasters for disabled people.

RefugePoint protection officer Devon Cone has been working at the Kenyan Daddab Refugee Camp along the Somali border, where many refugees with disabilities have been subjected to abuse and assaults such as stoning, beating, burning and sexual abuse from other refugees.

She said that harsh treatment has led many protective parents to leave refugee camps with their children and head to urban areas in Kenya, as they cannot return home.

Unfortunately, NGO medical staff are not equipped or prepared to provide the kind of therapy needed by many people, and prosthetic limbs wear out quickly and other supporting devices are hard to use in that environment.

Cone also said that disabled refugees in urban areas struggle to earn a living, or if their child is disabled often find that they cannot care for their child and earn money at the same time.

In these urban areas, people with disabilities can become increasingly isolated due to a lack of ramps and accessible facilities, although physical therapy can often address this.

Unfortunately, most agencies focus their efforts on aid camps, and urban areas are either ignored or inadequately covered.

RefugePoint protection officer Devon Cone Education support is not available, and in many large urban environments, such as Cairo, agencies such as the UN High Commission on Refugees cannot reach the dispersed groups of displaced people.

Even if refugees find these agency offices, the staff is unprepared to care for people with disabilities.

Rooshey Hasnain, project director at the University of Illinois, Chicago, said that the number of disasters has been steadily increasing in recent decades, but better preparation and prevention has in fact reduced the number of fatalities.

She said that 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina changed peoples attitudes in the US from the “wait-for-help” mindset to more proactive and engaged disaster preparation.

She gave the example of a woman in a wheelchair who called the transit department in New Orleans for emergency transport from her home. Over the phone she was given assurances that help would come, and yet she drowned while still on the phone.

Katrina and the resulting floods caused around 1,800 deaths. Victims were predominantly Black and poor, with around 25% having some disability.

This disaster led to the creation of the Office of Disability Integration and Coordination, which is working to reduce the inequality between disabled and non-disabled people.

Hasnain said that among the respondents to survey conducted by her department, 57% of people with disabilities did not know who to contact in their community during an emergency, 61% had no evacuation plan for their home and 32% do not know how to quickly evacuate their workplace.

Hasnain also sited Turkey as an example where important lessons were learned, where earthquakes in 2011 revealed the lack of mental health specialists in the country, especially for children.

Hasnain echoed a call from Cone for more people with disabilities to be involved in “different cycles in disaster management” so that their needs can be met and their dignity restored.

Programmes run by institutions such as the Centre for Disability in Development (CDD) in Bangladesh have contributed significantly to the decline in disaster-related casualties by properly training government and civilian relief workers in how to care for people with disabilities.

In Bangladesh, a country that sees frequent floods and cyclones, houses are made of light materials, and so elevated and reinforced storm shelters are a common refuge from bad weather.

CDD director Nazmul Bari said that his agency has been working with the government to make these shelters more accessible for people with disability, as well as arrange for easier collection of emergency supplies and registration for evacuation for disabled people.

A key reason for the CDD’s success is the livelihood training programme, teaching people with disabilities skills such as animal husbandry, fishing and maintaining floating gardens so that they can thrive independently in a disaster zone.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=482617&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

Jamwa's daughter tops school for deaf

New Vision
Jamwa's daughter tops school for deaf
Publish Date: Jan 25, 2012

Achieng explains a point in sign language. PHOTO by Petride Mudoola By Petride Mudoola

Achieng Tezira Jamwa, 17, a former pupil of Uganda School for the Deaf, scored 21 aggregates in the just concluded Primary Leaving Examinations(PLE) to emerge as the best performer of her class and prove that disability is not inability.

According to Winston Oketcho, the Commissioner Special Needs Desk in the Ministry of Education and Sports, 60 Special Needs schools and 567 pupils were registered to sit for the last year's national exams.

These included 48 blind pupils, 179 were deaf, 158 with no vision, 67 physically handicapped, 38 of them had dyslexic and 77 with multiple disabilities.

Oketcho however, noted that establishing the best candaidate in the 2011 PLE is still a challenge because information regarding the general performance of Special Needs schools was not readily available since some of the disabled children sat for the exams in inclusive education schools.

The Ntinda-based school registered a total of 30 students. Of these, none passed in the first grade, three passed in the second, three managed third grade, eight in the fourth grade, 15 were upgraded and one in Division X.

Achieng, a daughter of David Chandi Jamwa, the embattled former managing director of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), scored five in English, six in Science, seven in Social Studies (SST) and three in Mathematics.

Daniel Kirya, the deputy head teacher at the school noted that there was a marked improvement in Mathematics and English but with a decline in SST. “This was due to the fact that the questions in Science and SST were too wordy for a deaf pupil to comprehend,” Kirya said.

He appealed to the Ministry of Education and Sports to include Special Needs experts in the setting and marking of exams of children with learning difficulties, noting that it is challenging for a teacher who has not taught such pupils to mark their answer sheets.

Achieng being "swept off her feet' by her equally excited siblings at their family home. PHOTO by Petride Mudoola

Through an interpreter, Achieng told New Vision that she was capable of scoring a first grade but said the examinations were not easy.

“Some of the vocabulary used in the exams was too hard for the deaf to understand given that our grammar is different from the ordinary one, making it very complicated,” Achieng said.

She requested for Special Needs teachers to be integrated in marking the exams of students with learning disabilities, arguing that the ordinary teachers cross their correct answers assuming they are wrong.

“Though there are challenges we face as disabled students, with assistance from the teachers, matrons and the school administration, I concentrated on my studies and that is how I managed to excel,” she beamed.

Achieng said she wants to be a banker or information technology (IT) specialist in future because she loves mathematics.

Meanwhile, Moses Lukombo Michael, 17, emerged second-best with aggregates 23. He scored five in English, seven in Science, six in SST and five in Mathematics. Deborah Nabakyibi, 13, emerged third-best in the school with aggregates 25: seven in English, seven in Science, seven in SST and four in Mathematics.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/628582-jamwa-s-daughter-tops-school-for-deaf.html

How mysterious illness cost me my sight

Nigerian Tribune
Written by Adebayo Waheed
Thursday, 26 January 2012

Alhaji Suleiman Abdul-Azeez presenting gift to one of the widows

AS part of activities marking its 16th anniversary, the Centre for Islamic Purification of Nigeria (CIPUN) presented cash and other items to widows, orphans, peasant farmers, the disabled, sick, accident victims and indigent students.

Also, a blind lady, Basirat Bola Fasola (29), was sponsored to College of Education (Special) Oyo.

Born in 1983 at Iya-Oba Compound, Ilero in Kajola Local Government Area of Oyo State, she attended Ansar-Ud-Deen Primary School, Ilero, between 1988 and 1993 and proceeded to Ansar-Ud-Deen Comprehensive High School, Ilero between 1993 and 1999.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, Basirat, who claimed that she was not born blind, said she was born with her two eyes working perfectly.

She added that, she completed her primary and secondary education as “ complete lady without any deformity.

“I proceeded to the College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta, Ogun State, where I completed the first and second year without any deformity,” she said.

However, the blind lady said she could not commence the third year in that college, not to talk of completing it.

She explained that she was on vacation when she was attacked by a mysterious illness which affected her two eyes. “This happened when I came to spend the second year vacation at my home town, Ilero, after completing her second year in the college.

“I was promptly rushed to the hospital so that I could be cured of the illness. All the doctors tried their best but it was not enough to save my sight,” she said.

In the process, she lost her two eyes and later became completely blind and she remained under the intensive care in the hospital for a very long time.

While in the hospital, she said her parents were shuttling between home and the hospital to provide her needs.

According to her, it was during the struggle that her father, while returning from the hospital, was involved in a ghastly auto crash which claimed his life.

As a result, her mother became helpless and could not really go further to assist the young lady.

When she left the hospital, her determination to continue her education was paramount in spite of her disability.

In an attempt to proceed with her education, Basirat, who was in her final year in the College of Education, had to return to Oluho Primary School for the Handicapped to gain basic education for the visually impaired.

She performed brilliantly at the primary school for the handicapped and she proceeded to higher school, Federal College of Education (Special) Oyo.

Shortly after gaining admission, she said, her matter was brought to the notice of the Centre for Islamic Purification in Nigeria by the ex- chairman, Kajola Local Government Area, Barrister Gabriel Olajide Ojolowo.

At the centre’s annual programme, a donation of N150,000 was announced and was handed over to the lady.

Speaking, the Centre’s Supreme Coordinator, Alhaji Sulaimon Abdul-Azeez, recalled that former Oyo State Deputy Speaker, Honourable Quasim Ayilara and Barrister Toohir Adeosun who were special guests of honour, donated to the course.

He disclosed that others at the occasion were able to raise N300,000 for the smooth education of the blind lady.

“The fund sustained her education throughout the course of study in the college between 2007 and 2010.

“She proceeded to Lagos State to pursue a computer course which she has completed successfully,” he added.

While noting that the blind lady was married to another visually impaired husband and blessed with a baby who is not impaired, Alhaji Azeez said that Basirat was desperately in need of a job to sustain herself and the family, saying that it could be a civil service job or teaching.

He called on the state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, to encourage the more to the lady the more by giving her employment in the state civil service.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/features/34912-how-mysterious-illness-cost-me-my-sight