The supervision and monitoring officer for Ghana Education Service in the Tarkwa Municipality, Kwame Gazienye, has urged parents to encourage their children to learn sign language since it will help them and also open their minds.
According to Kwame Gazienye, people with speaking disabilities need to be integrated into the larger community to make their lives better, hence the need for more people to learn how to communicate with sign language.
Kwame Gazienye made these comments at the sign language competition organised by Sign Language Empowerment (SILANEM) for some selected basic schools in the Tarkwa Nsuaem municipality.
“We need to adopt it to help the disabled and those who can’t speak so they can be part of the community. Because the data shows that many disabled people do not get people to help them with interpretation, especially when they go to the hospital.”
“So it is time for us to encourage the general public, especially parents with children in schools, to learn sign languages so that they can also help people with disabilities when they need assistance. Because sometimes you can go to the hospital and someone needs help, but because he or she can’t speak, it becomes difficult for him to get help.”
He also urged parents to encourage their children to learn sign language in school because it is an untapped market for employment opportunities.
“It’s even a job opportunity because many places and organisations require people who can work as interpreters, and school owners should also open up their doors for some of these courses.”
Mr. Daniel Okyere, the chairman of Persons Living With Disability in Tarkwa Nsuaem municipality, also pleaded with the country’s leadership to assist in providing sign language interpreters in our various institutions because “it is serious that we do not have even one government interpreter in the Tarkwa Nsuaem municipality.”
Mr. Richmond Baidoo, executive director of SILANEM, asked other schools to come and attend the sign language lesson because they would do their best to bridge the gap between the deaf community and the broader public.
By: Joel Eshun/Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
