DEAF AND DUMB, BLIND DEBATE AT NCCE PROGRAMME (PAGE 35, JULY 29, 2010)

IT was a mixture of sorrow and excitement when students of two institutions for the physically challenged, the Mampong Senior High/Technical School for the Deaf and the School for the Blind at Akropong Akuapem, made presentations on two topical issues, HIV/AIDS and challenges of blind students.
The articulate manner in which the deaf students used sign language to express their views and the way the blind also made their presentation with the use of Braille excited some of the listeners, while others were filled with sorrow.
At certain periods of the presentation, some of the people present shed tears and called on parents with physically challenged children to give those children the needed support to grow up as useful citizens, instead of neglecting them.
The students from the School for the Deaf made a presentation on HIV/AIDS, highlighting on infection, treatment, support and the role the government should play in reducing its spread, while those from the School for the Blind spoke on the inability to secure learning and teaching materials for blind students, as well as other challenges.
The National Commission for Civil Education (NCCE) organised the event, under its “Citizen Ghana Project”, a civic responsibility programme, with funding from the Centre for Civic Education of the United States of America, to educate physically challenged students on their civic responsibilities and at the same time call for support for them.
A cross-section of society was present, including Nana Kusi Obuadum V, the Chief of Aseseeso, who chaired the function.
Nana Obuadum stressed the need for rich people in society to support physically challenged persons.
Setting the ball rolling for the beginning of the presentations, a director of the NCCE, Mrs Judith Fanny Kumah, who is also the National Co-ordinator of Citizen Ghana, dilated extensively on civic responsibility, stating that her outfit was doing its best to reintroduce it as a subject in the school curriculum.
Earlier, the Akuapem North District Director of the NCCE, Mr E. Asare-Buakyi, had given the assurance that the programme would be sustained to deepen students’ understanding of civic responsibility and work together to improve the communities.
Schoolbags, learning materials and provisions were presented to the students.