Yaounde, Cameroon Africa January 2011. (Cameroon News)  -  As a part of their project 16 students from Dr. Cristina Berdichevsky’s GSR 300 raised funds for promoting education for the hearing impaired.

As part of their capstone project, the 16 students from Dr. Cristina Berdichevsky’s GSR 300: “Deaf Education in Cameroon” did not just obtain funds or build awareness but convened a conference that educated and opened the eyes of the people about educating the hearing impaired.

19TH EDITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY IN BUEA CAMEROON AFRICA

This was a fresh initiative and an admirable one considering the don’t care attitude that the people of Cameroon were showing for the education of the hearing impaired.

Speaking about the fundraising part the students were able to get twice the money that they had initially aimed for.

The students kicked off their project by first undertaking a detailed study going through readings and personal experience stories that were typically depicting the conditions prevalent in the Central West African nation.

The next thing that they did was to put their information into use and acting on it.

They created a plan of action for raising the money and also for disbursing the information that they had assimilated representing the Buea School for the Deaf (BSD) in the Southwest Region of Cameroon, which was evolved by Gallaudet alumni Aloysius and Margaret Bibum.

The students started their tryst with a fixed goal to raise around $500.

Le Toudjida Allara and his fellow students Daniel DiDonna, Serge Okogo, and Elizabeth Steyer started calling in hearing impaired Cameroonians and other speakers dealing in the area to speak about their experiences at the conference.

They also got in touch with embassies in Washington, D.C., asking them to send in delegates who would benefit from such an exchange of information.

“In Cameroon, the government does not support deaf education,” explained Allara, a government and international studies major.

BSD relies on private sources for raising funds and also take donations in kind to take care of the 102 students in its elementary and secondary programs.

“I wanted to work with friends of BSD and make it successful for that school,” he said.

The GSR 300 students also synergized with students from Dr. Jan Hafer’s GSR 241 class, which had recently closed a service-learning project in aid of the school, and two graduate students in Dr. Martha Sheridan’s “Macro Practice” course who had worked towards building successful partnerships between American schools and BSD.

The capstone students also worked in close proximity with board members of the organization Friends of the Buea School for the Deaf (FoBSD).

The six months of detailed studies and speaking for the less privileged had a remarkable finish on the evening of December 2, when they were able to successfully convene a conference that spanned across four hours at the Gallaudet campus.

Provost Stephen Weiner inaugurated the event in the evening, which was convened in the atrium of the James Lee Sorenson Language and Communication Center. Business Department Chair Emilia Chukwuma followed the first speaker and also addressed the audience.

The keynote speaker was Julius Wamey of the Information Solutions Group at the World Bank who made a presentation about how people generally perceive the less abled and also about the policy pertaining to disability adopted by the government of Cameroon.

To provide a clearer picture about the hearing impaired and the experiences they were going through in the country, the class called upon a panel of three Cameroonian students and one American student who had been studying about the challenges and domains of growth for deaf education.

The GSR 241 students enhanced the presentation by providing their own input about what they thought was relevant.

The students who had synergized with the FoBSD board members were “bright, informed, and motivated,” said Teresa Arcari, a former Gallaudet social work professor who serves as president of the board of FoBSD.

“Their fundraising, some of which will continue during spring semester, makes an important contribution to BSD.”

19TH EDITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY IN BUEA CAMEROON AFRICA

The delegates at the conference also got a chance to go through, feel and taste the rich and diverse culture of the country and were seen to be relishing the huge spread of traditional food that Allara had ordered from an African restaurant in Silver Spring, Md.-as part of the program’s “A Culinary Pause for a Good Cause.”

Dr. Berdichevsky forecasted a total of 50 delegates and the students were able to collect around $200 from the sale of food, bringing the semester total to $1,000; almost two times of what they had planned initially.

The funds will be used to pay BSD teachers’ their salaries.

Incidentally the students who had played an active ole in conceptualizing and organizing the conference had been in various leadership roles in the Student Body Government, the men’s soccer and swim teams, and the New Student Orientation program. Involvement in the planning process made their experience much richer.

Allara said he would proudly talk about this assignment when he looks for jobs, internships, or graduate school in international studies, for example.

But the greatest satisfaction that he got, he said, was spreading positive messages about BSD to a wider audience.

“People can share their ideas to help BSD, maybe offering their skills to help,” said Allara. “My hope is that people can help to locate resources through networking.”
BSD co-founder Aloysius Bibum was ecstatic about the students’ contributions. “Margaret and I regard this excellent work with high esteem and awe,” he said.

“Dr. Berdichevsky has given her students a head start in international development and cooperation, which I am sure they will very much appreciate in years ahead. Thank you all from our hearts.”