PHOTO: Winning Way School for the Deaf
By Onesimus S. Garway Sr, ogarways@gmail.com
BUCHANAN, Liberia- Since Jackson Willie was moved with compassion interacting with a man with hearing impairment while as Liberian refugee in the Ivory Coast in 1996, he continues to serve and impact the lives of persons with disabilities even today in his native Liberia.
He says his passion remains uncompromised.
Mr. Willie, age 51, has explained that while in neighboring Ivory Coast during Liberia’s Civil War, some Liberians with hearing and speech impairment complained in a Church of not being left out during worship hour; a feeling that was shared with the congregation through one of aggrieved individuals through a written information they displayed on a blackboard.
That was something Jackson said that led him to have learned Sign Language Interpretation and Braille, in order to assist them.
That decision made 25 years ago has now resulted into the establishment of the only learning institution for kids with hearing and speech impairment in the southern Grand Bassa County, over 88 miles from Monrovia. This is a journey that began in 2011 on the “Church of Christ Campus” in Buchanan, he revealed.
This passionate Liberian sign language educator earned his first degree in Education, which could have led him to seek employment at any private or public school as a teacher, but he instead chose to volunteer his service for other Liberian children, who are desperately in need of quality Education for a better livelihood.
This Institution, which is located in the port city of Buchanan, is called WINNINGWAY School for the Deaf has 64 members, but only nineteen active students are captured in this year’s enrollment. The Vision Bearer has attributed this drop in enrollment to huge financial constraints and reduction in the number of staffers; saying that the institution has just four volunteer instructors and three caretakers who are also volunteering.
Winning School success story
Sharing the Winning School’ success story, Mr. Willie said this elementary institution has succeeded in making kids with such disabilities to fluently communicate, practically identify and spell their names as well as count numbers brilliantly–the skills they did not have prior to their enrollment.
Considering the infrequent (Rare) nature of such school in the Grand Bassa County and other parts of Liberia, many parents and community occupants doubted the vision and created constraints during the house-to-house recruitment of the sixty-four kids.
But such did not undermine the zest of Jackson; stating he overcame that challenge by taking along with his team, some prominent citizens and his family members as surety.
5-year National Action Plan
In December 2018, a five-year National Action Plan (NAP) on Disabilities was launched in Liberia, which requires that “all laws or sections of laws discriminating against persons with disabilities be abolished; while the teaching of sign language be made a required course in all Liberian schools from elementary to college levels; and that social security and welfare be provided as financial assistance to persons with disabilities, among other things.
But it is yet unclear why the Ministry of Education has not included in the Liberian National Curriculum Sign Language as a prioritized and required Course in Schools that would meet the educational needs of PwDs.
Even though the Ministry of Education, in its Inclusive Education Policy of 2018 acknowledged that “the most disadvantaged and marginalized group of people in the World are persons with disabilities; stating that they are faced with numerous challenges including access to education, discrimination of all forms, as well as environmental and social barriers.”
The “Liberia Inclusive Education Policy” signed by then Acting Minister of Education, Latim Dathong and Deputy Minister for planning, Research and Development, Alton V. Kesselly also quoted a 1997 experimental survey report funded by UNICEF and conducted by the Center for Rehabilitation of the Injured and the Disabled (CRID); in which the report established that “more than 16% of the Liberian Population lives with disability”.
“Of this category, 61% were physically challenged, 23.9% Visually Impaired, 6.8% with Hearing impairment and 8.3% had intellectual or cognitive impairments.”
Understandably since 1997, it has been almost 24 years of growth in the Liberian Population; of which PwDs have a portion of such, though with no specificity mentioned by the June 6, 2008 National Population and Housing Census Report of Liberia during the Administration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
In Liberia; for an individual to shoulder the daily financial burden of an institution is an uphill battle, as in the situation with Jackson Willie and his school, as it is barely managing to survive through the mercy of handouts from individuals and some institutions on an irregular (not consistent) basis.
Constraints/challenges
Currently, the institution is being housed in a rented building along the Saypue Hill -Tubman Street rout in Buchanan, a transaction that requires US$65.00 (sixty five United States Dollars) monthly; a task the Vision Bearer terms as critical to handle, but he continue to strive for the sake of the kids.
“When I started this mission, many days I went to class hungry and even lacked transportation, but the education of the kids was my supreme point of focus,” Mr. Willie narrated.
Paying staff, purchasing stationery materials and feeding the children who are residing on and off the campus are part of the Winning-Way School for the Deaf’ constraints. But this struggling institution’s head has disclosed that his administration has gotten involve with Animals Husbandry, with emphasis in piggery and also purchased two plots of Land as part of sustainability strategies.
Additionally, Mr. Jackson said to increase school enrollment, assistance is badly needed to construct the school’s own building and pay staff, thus he is appealing to the Liberian government, humanitarian groups and individuals to come to the aid of this unique school.
Article 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities emphasized that; “States Parties shall enable persons with disabilities to learn life and social development skills to facilitate their full and equal participation in education and as members of the community. To this end, States Parties shall take appropriate measures, including:
- a) Facilitating the learning of Braille, alternative script, augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication and orientation and mobility skills, and facilitating peer support and mentoring;
- b) Facilitating the learning of sign language and the promotion of the linguistic identity of the deaf community;
- c) Ensuring that the education of persons, and in particular children, who are blind, deaf or deaf-blind, is delivered in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication for the individual, and in environments which maximize academic and social development.
To this effective, none of the over 150 private and public academic institutions across Grand Bassa’s five electoral Districts has in its employ any instructor for sign language interpretation. And also, there is none at Worship centers such as Churches.
But according to Goal four (4) of the Sustainable Development Goal, achieving inclusive and quality education for all reaffirms the belief that education is one of the most powerful and proven vehicles for sustainable development.
This Goal ensures that all boys and girls complete free primary and secondary schooling by 2030 for the purpose of eliminating gender and wealth disparities and achieve Universal access to a quality higher education.
Meanwhile, the head of the “Winning Way” has also expressed willingness to partner with the government as well as other National and International development partners for more Liberian kids with hearing and speech impairment to benefit. Publication of this article was made possible with support from Internews Inclusive Media project