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Queen of Peace Catholic Church to train 60 sign language interpreters
● Rev. Fr. Rene
As Chinese disability civil rights activist, Chen Guangcheng, aptly said, “How a society treats its disabled is the true measure of a civilisation.”
This means that, it is important for able-bodied persons or institutions to make conscious efforts in supporting people living with disabilities in order to alleviate their sufferings.
One of such institutions living up to this expectation is the Queen of Peace Catholic Church, Madina in the Greater Accra Region.
The church is on a mission to train 60 sign language interpreters this year.
This was to ensure that the hearing-impaired who attended mass at the church and nearby parishes were not deprived of understanding what was said at mass and social gatherings.
The exercise estimated to cost about GHc80, 000, is opened to volunteers who are ready to help demonstrate skillfully the teachings of Christ or the word of God to the understanding of the unhearing.
Rev. Fr Rene Yao (SMA), the founder and first Chaplain of St. Martin’s Deaf Ministry, said the Catholic Church needed the support of all well-meaning citizens to make the initiative a reality.
He was optimistic the introduction of the sign language during mass and other social gatherings would motivate people living with disabilities to attend the church and get the best out of the time spent there.
The training programme, he said, would be done in batches to rope in more volunteers to deepen the church’s evangelisation, programmes.
Rev Fr. Rene said: “As Catholics, the volunteers would be empowered to share the Gospel and the teachings of Jesus.
The training would offer the (volunteers) the responsibility to bring the message of Jesus to everybody.
“The church is looking at the possibility of sustaining the training in subsequent years, so that those trained could be useful to people in the society.”
He said funds being raised for the project would also be used to rehabilitate a room for physiotherapy for the Hope for Life Foundation, which is an organisation that handles disabled issues.
The prosecution has officially rested its case in The Republic v Solomon Asamoah & Another, the high-profile legal battle commonly referred to as the “Sky Train” case.
The Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem Sai announced the development, praising the state’s team of hard-working prosecutors for successfully anchoring the state’s evidence before the High Court.
The criminal trial centers on the former Chief Executive Officer and the former Board Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF).
The duo stands accused of illegally authorizing and paying out US$2 million to a foreign company without obtaining board directives or other mandatory statutory approvals.
State investigators have confirmed that the disbursed millions cannot be found.
Following the closure of the prosecution’s case, the accused persons moved the court for an opportunity to file a submission of no case.
The presiding judge granted the application, ordering the defense to submit their arguments by June 8.
The outcome of the June 8 filings will decide the fate of the trial:
With this, if the judge finds the defense’s submission convincing, the accused will be acquitted and discharged however, If the judge dismisses the submission, the court will order the accused officials to take the stand and explain why they should not face prison sentences.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Member of Parliament for Akuapem North, Sammy Awuku, has expressed deep sorrow following the sudden passing of Isaac Batsa, the constituency secretary for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) lawmaker issued a statement on Tuesday reacting to the news, which has shocked the local political community.
Mr.Awuku praised the late NDC secretary for his bipartisan approach to local governance.
He noted that despite their different political affiliations, Batsa consistently rose above party lines to serve the constituency with diligence.
The MP revealed that the news was particularly shocking given that he had last interacted with Batsa just three days prior on Saturday.
Concluding his statement, Sammy Awuku extended his heartfelt condolences to Batsa’s family, the constituency and regional executives, and the entire NDC fraternity, wishing the deceased peaceful eternal rest.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
