OFP Certifies 20 American Sign Language Teachers

By Foday Moriba Conteh

In completion of phase one (1) and two (2) of the One Family People’s 2021 inclusive education training on American Sign Language for primary and secondary schools teachers in the country, the One Family People with support from the Liliane Fonds has on Thursday 30^th September, 2021 certified 20 teachers on American Sign Language during an auspicious ceremony held at the Peace Museum Hall on New England Ville in Freetown.

Welcoming all to the gathering, the Operations Director of One Family People, Hadiatou Diallo, said that September is Deaf Awareness Month, a time to celebrate the rich cultural history of the Deaf community, and continue the work of advocating for the rights of Deaf people everywhere in the world.

She described the ceremony as very important towards the deaf community as their organization is certifying 20 teachers who have completed training on the American Sign Language which is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of  Deaf communities in the world, adding that it is a complete and organized visual language that is expressed by facial expression as well as movements and motions with the hands.

Hadiatou Diallo maintained that sign language is very important because it is the language of people who cannot speak and for people to able to communicate and include them in society people need to learn their language just like how people are learning English.

She pointed out that in other countries they have developed their local sign languages and dictionaries of which she said that she is hoping that Sierra Leone will emulate the same.

She lamented that few weeks ago a girl with speech and hearing impairment was gang raped by bike riders and that they worked together in order for her to get justice but said it was impossible for her to access justice because of the language barrier, adding that the girl doesn’t have the opportunity to go to school so she can use the sign language which made communication with her impossible and unfortunately she lost her life.

The Operations Director of One Family People concluded that with the certification of these America Sign Language teachers they will serve as ambassadors in trying to address the issue of sign language among people with speech and hearing impairment across the country.

On his part, the Guinean Ambassador to Sierra Leone, described the certification ceremony has very important towards breaking the gap between people with speech and hearing problem and others in society.

He added that the training will enhance those teachers to communicate with people with speech and hearing impairment in the country and the world as a whole which he said will enhance an inclusive society.

He commended the One Family People and partners for the laudable effort in empowering the teachers which he said will contribute towards the development of the nation.

The President of Sierra Leone Union on Disabilities Issues (SLUDI), Santigie Kargbo, praised the One Family People for their tireless efforts in supporting persons living with disabilities across the country. He described the certification ceremony of these teachers as a stepping stone in addressing issues of disabilities in the country especially speech and hearing impairment.

He said that as a Union they are calling on Government and partners to make sure that these teachers who undertook the venture to learn  the sign language are supported in order to replicate their ideas to other schools which will also serve as a motivation for others to see the need to learn sign language.

Giving his keynote address, the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Mohamed Haji-Kella said that the month of September is Deaf Awareness Month, a time to celebrate the rich cultural history of the Deaf community and that it also helps to disclose what the Government has done to contribute to the lives people with speech and hearing impairment in the country.

He said that there over 466 million people living with speech and hearing problem in the world and 34 million are children, adding that such shows that Sierra Leone and the sub-region need to do something in addressing issues of people with speech and hearing impairment.

The Deputy Minister said that sign language should be the right for everybody and it must be popularized in schools in order to break the gap which will enhance an exclusive society.

He concluded by expressing appreciation to One Family People for the commendable venture in training teachers on sign language. Mohamed Haji-Kella encouraged the sign language teachers to use their skills and also be able to replicate what they have learnt.

One of the teachers, Miatta P. Thomas, said that in Sierra Leone for far too long children with disabilities have been left behind especially children with speech and hearing impediment in the area of education.

She added that having acquired knowledge on sign language she will promote inclusivity in the classroom, stating that she can communicate with everyone including people who have speech and hearing impairment problems.