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Did you know that in Cameroon there is no government funding specifically targeted for deaf education?
For that reason, private schools like The Buea School For the Deaf (BSD) have partnered with non-profits like us for financial support.
Help FoBSD continue to empower BSD, so they can in turn continue to empower deaf children and their families through education, job training and community awareness.
On #GIVINGTUESDAY make a positive impact by
supporting the kids of Buea School for the Deaf
9 Reasons Why...
1. Thanks to your donations, last year, a BSD alumni graduated from the University of Buea with a B.A. in Special Education. She is now studying at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C.
2. Two BSD students successfully completed a two-year teacher training programme at GTTC (Government Teacher Training College) and obtained their Teaching Certificate. Both were hired as teachers at BSD.
3. Your support has allowed for there to be a steady increase in the hiring of deaf staff. All house parents are deaf and this goes a long way in teaching new parents of the skills and capabilities of deaf people. Furthermore, it gives hope to parents when they see deaf people in responsible positions. FoBSD's work impacts BSD at all levels.
4. Over the past five years, FoBSD has seen a considerable increase in parents sending their deaf children to BSD at earlier ages such as three and four, even as BSD is a boarding school. This means that parents are increasingly optimistic at the benefits of deaf education BSD provides and that is all in part to the generous support FoBSD recieves from our partners and donors which allows us to do our work.
5. At BSD parents of new students are happy to see their deaf child start to communicate effectively. Many of our students come with immense challenges and almost no communication or social skills and therefore experience frustrating difficulty properly expressing their thoughts. BSD has worked to create an environment where deaf children feel cherished and empowered instead of as a burden.
6. FoBSD has worked closely with BSD to create awareness in the Cameroonian community by sponsoring student and faculty participation in community events. Deaf teachers participate in govemment meetings. BSD students attend and perform in dance and sign language at community events. All possible because of funding we secure on behalf of BSD.
7. FoBSD has witnessed the school bounce back after the civil war...and are proud of our role in achieving this. Since 2016 the two English-speaking regions have been in the midst of a civil war. In 20l7 the school closed for one year as did other schools. This had a serious effect on student enrollment. When school reopened enrollment was 40 compared to 2017 when enrollment stood at 120 students. Parents were afraid to send their children to school. Enrollment today stands at 90 and continues to rise because, much like the staff at BSD, we never gave up on the school and presevered thanks to sponsors and donors.
8. BSD has a history of never turning away a deaf student for inability to pay school fees. FoBSD plays a huge role in this by providing support and sponsorship funds. As a result of the civil war, many families fled from their villages. Many of our children are what we call 'IDP' (internally displaced persons). Parents have had to find a new way of raising income as they no longer could depend on cash from cash crops. This has a severe effect on being able to pay school fees.
9. We've been sponsoring BSD's program of training Cameroon's next wave of deaf interpretors! Cameroon has no formal Sign Language Interpreter training programs and therefore a lack of trained signed language interpreters. At BSD, when we hire teachers, we provide deaf pedagogy training ourselves. Those who show promise are trained as Sign Language Interpreters as there is a lack of trained Sign Language Interpreters in Cameroon.
