By: Amadu Wurie Timbo
The Bombali Deaf Development Association has set new goals at a well-attended meeting held on Saturday 22nd October 2022, at the Pastoral Center on Dr Ernest Bai Koroma Road, Makeni city in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone.
The meeting was organized to solidify the living force of unity amongst members of the Association,to discuss golden and set new goals with hopes to uplift the Association and equally its treasured membership.
Securing an Office space and to expand its membership empowerment were throughly discussed by attendees of the meeting.
Mr. Abdulrahman Barrie is the President of the Bombali Deaf Development Association, in his statement during the meeting, he reminded attendees that: ‘the Association is a kind of special body that gears towards redeeming the deaf from the many daily challenges they face in their moves as a result of their disability, ranging from illiteracy to unemployment, discrimination and others.’
Mr. Barrier added that he’s of the view that they are yet to succeed much as planned due to the unavailability of an office space among other constraints, saying they have been repeatedly turned down by some organizations and individuals because of not having an office, with the perception that they(BDDA) cannot implement projects without an established working space.
Hence, the reason they are on the move to get an office space to let them perform their daily administrative duties.
Unlike other people living with disabilities, our membership (the deaf) has for far too long been marginalised by both the Government of Sierra Leone and other Humanitarian organizations, which is why we want our voices to be heard through the good work of our Association, which is why we are calling on well wishers to consider us by way of lending support to us, the BDDA said.
Adding that: ‘Lack of support to the deaf makes our disability the most vulnerable of all, but with these plans we have set, we are hopeful of making considerable progress with support from the Government and other organizations coming to our aid soon.
‘We are in need of support to stand, we are Humans, and we don’t wish to be deaf and dumb. Support us so we can stand independently,’ He concluded.
Mr. Mohamed Taimu Mansaray is the Sign Language Interpreter at the Bombali Deaf Development Association, in an interview with this medium he stated that the Association has been established for a bit more than half a decade with the exclusive aim to empower the deaf with both formal education and functional literacy skills training for them to live a better and happier life.
He reiterated that they have networked with some other organizations and stakeholders who have made many unfulfilled promises but that they are enduring in their request for collaboration and sponsorship.
Conclusively, he explained that ‘the Deaf suffers only from speech and language problems but are mentally stable and capable to perform better functions as to able people. I’m asking Government, NGOs and stakeholders to come to our aid to help us realize our cherished short and long-term goals.’
The Bombali Deaf Development Association was established in 2016 by a group of hearing-impaired disabled persons residing in Bombali District, Northern Sierra Leone, ascertained to address hovering issues of their membership. The Association has so far registered with the Ministry of Social Welfare Gender and Children's Affairs, the Nation persons with disability and others.
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