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First Batch of Graduants from the sign Language Interpreters. Picture: OWUSU INNOCENT
First Batch of Graduants from the sign Language Interpreters. Picture: OWUSU INNOCENT

‘Make all facilities disability friendly’

The acting Executive Secretary of the National Council on Persons with Disability (NCPD), Mr Kwamena Dadzie-Dennis, has appealed to all public and private institutions to make their old and new facilities disability friendly.

He said persons with disabilities would then have easy access to participate in whatever activities or programmes being conducted in those facilities.

“The neglect of persons with disabilities make them dependent on society instead of contributing to it,” he said.

Mr Dadzie-Dennis, made the appeal in his remarks at the graduation ceremony of sign language students in Accra.

The Graduation ceremony

Five persons graduated after completing a one and a half year training in sign language.

The training focused on the means of communicating with the hearing and speech impaired and was organised by the Help Eradicate Poverty in Africa Foundation (HEPAF).

Mr Dadzie-Dennis, underscored the need to teach and use sign language in the everyday activities of Society in order to make life comfortable and worth living for persons living with hearing disabilities.

He said educational and religious institutions should employ interpreters of sign language to be able to communicate with the deaf and dumb.

Interpreters Needed

He called for the employment of interpreters of sign language in all institutions.

Mr Dadzie-Dennis, said Sign languages were the only means of communicating with people who were hearing and speaking impaired, but most institutions did not consider hosting the disabled in their auditorium.

“If we want to make the society inclusive for everybody including persons with disability, we have to ensure that there are sign language interpreters at all service provision centres, such as the banks, the market places, the church, the mosque, the hospital and the lorry stations,” he added.

Mr Dadzie-Dennis also said people with disability were unable to visit hospitals when they needed to, due to lack of interpreters at such places.

He, therefore, urged organisers of all events to arrange for interpreters of sign language in order to involve the hearing and speech impaired in societal activities.

An executive member of the foundation ,Madam Emelia Holme said the foundation saw it important to engage people with hearing and speaking disability in daily activities and, therefore, decided to facilitate the training of volunteers in sign language.

“Since sign language was the only means of communicating with such people, the foundation gave opportunity to interested persons to enrol in the course,” she said.

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