About Us

 

Friends of the Buea School for the Deaf, Inc.(FoBSD), was established in 2007 in the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area, bringing together a strong deaf community and a committed Cameroonian-American community.  The goal of the organization is to gain moral and financial support for the work of educating deaf children at the Buea School for the Deaf (BSD) in Cameroon, on the west coast of Africa. In this region, as in many neighboring countries, there is limited or no ongoing governmental support for the education of deaf children. 

The hope is to change attitudes, erasing stereotypes that limit deaf persons.  Among the inspirations for this change are BSD’s founders and current directors, Aloysius and Margaret Bibum. As deaf professionals they represent broad possibilities for the children they guide.  BSD teaching staff, interns, and volunteers reach out to inform families about educational goals and the economic self-sufficiency possible as their deaf children reach adulthood.

FoBSD gained recognition as a 501(c)(3) organization in February, 2008. The tax identification number is 26-0765074.  We welcome new supporters.  Ten dollars brings membership into the group.  Additional donations are requested to fund a much-needed new building project for the school.  For more information, contact us at info@fobsd.org

 

 

FoBSD Board Composition

 

 

M. Teresa Arcari, President 
Social Worker, retired in 2006 after 26 years in the Department of Social Work, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC.  During this time she served as Director of Field Instruction for twelve years.  Ms, Arcari managed two U.S. Department of Education grants totaling $2,000,000 to prepare social workers to work with deaf children in schools and with their families.

Ann Bibum-Kona, Vice President
Mrs. Kona is a Cameroonian national, a permanent resident of the United States.  She has an MA in Psychology from The Catholic University of America.  She has experience in the area of medical insurance reimbursement, and has worked with private and federal government agencies.

Lena Dunning, MSW, Treasurer
Ms. Dunning earned an MSW degree at Gallaudet University, Washington, DC.  Prior to that time, Ms. Dunning earned a BA in Education at Adelphi University, New York.  Her social work internship was at the Buea School for the Deaf in the spring of 2007.  She also has experience as a research assistant, a coach for women’s soccer and track, a personal trainer, and as adjunct faculty in the Gallaudet Department of Physical Education.

Cheryl Shahan, Secretary
Ms. Shahan is a PhD candidate in Education at Gallaudet University, Washington, DC.  She has an MA degree in Deaf Education from McDaniel College, Westminster, Maryland.  She taught at the New Mexico School for the Deaf, volunteered as an educator at the Buea School for the Deaf for the spring semester, 2006, and was previously a VISTA volunteer in this country.

Maurice Tomdio, Member at Large
Mr. Tomdio is a deaf Cameroonian American who attended the Gallaudet University MA Program in Education.  He later earned an Advanced Certificate in Rehabilitation Administration and has been working as an Employment Training Specialist, Disability Program, City of Alexandria, Virginia, a One Stop Employment Program mandated by the Workforce Investment Act.