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‘Give equal opportunity to the hearing impaired’
Dr. Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah (inset) addressing the congregation
A Senior Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Dr. Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah has advocated equal opportunity for the hearing impaired.
According to him, when given equal opportunity, the deaf in society would do better by contributing their quota to the growth and development of the country.
He made these remarks on Sunday, July 2,2023, when he was speaking at the Deaf Awareness Week Celebration of the Nsawam Road Church of Christ Deaf Ministry on the theme; ‘Change-makers in the midst of challenges.’
Dr. Mprah said there was the need to give the deaf the needed support for them to realise their full potential, and urged those who did not see any prospects in people with hearing impairment to refrain from that mentality.
To achieve this, he said, society should be patient and try to understand the hearing impaired, as this would make it easy for them to become useful in whichever field they may find themselves.
He called on various stakeholders in the educational and other sectors to factor the hearing impaired in policy decisions and create an enabling environment for people with such disabilities to thrive.
According to him, the country was behind time when it came to learning aid for the deaf, which did not augur well for the development of people with such needs.
Also, Elder Felix Afran Sam who is the Elder-in-charge of the Deaf Ministry added that “if you look at people with disability, the deaf have a peculiar case in the sense that they do not have the right educational materials to aid their training, from Basic, Junior and Senior High to the tertiary level.”
“Let’s give the deaf equal opportunity as given to the hearing, and they could even do better,” he said
Elder Afran Sam, expressed his appreciation to everyone who contributed to making the week successful.
Ernest Dagbui, The Deacon-In- Charge of the Deaf Ministry, Nsawam Road Church of Christ said, the Deaf Awareness Week started as a day event but at a point, the church recognised the deaf and decided to provide a platform for them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme