Education projects in Cameroon

29 March 2004
Country:
Cameroon
Organisations involved:
  • Cameroon Deaf Empowerment Organisation (CDEO)
  • Ephphatha Institute for the Deaf
  • Department of Linguistics, Yaounde University
Synopsis:

The Cameroon Deaf Empowerment Organisation (CDEO) is a non-profit NGO that works in partnership with national and international organisations and benevolent persons. It was created on 21st July 1995 in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, by concerned deaf and hearing people. CDEO considers deaf empowerment to be the process that makes it possible for each deaf person to develop his or her skills and self-esteem so as to become self reliant. CDEO has the following goals:


  • To promote human and civil rights of deaf people and their families through advocacy
  • To unite deaf people and facilitate the empowerment of the deaf community in Cameroon in partnership with other organisations working for the deaf, such as the Cameroon National Association for the Deaf. (We also work with the National Association of Disabled persons.)
  • To work for full educational opportunities for deaf Cameroonians from nursery to higher education.
  • To facilitate health education for the deaf in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health.
  • To develop and promote Cameroon Sign Language as the language of deaf people in Cameroon.
  • To integrate deaf people in the society and dispel traditional misconceptions surrounding deafness.


It is estimated that there are about twenty thousand deaf people (children and adults) in Cameroon and the main causes of deafness are meningitis and measles. Many of the deaf people live in rural areas and are therefore isolated from one another, and they are illiterate and very poor. In the cities where there are deaf schools, Yaounde, Douala, Kumba and Bafoussam, sizeable numbers of deaf children have the first school leaving certificates, but they too are unemployed and cannot attend secondary schools because of the lack of sign language interpreters. Deaf people are therefore a marginalized group and they need a far-reaching programme of special education to ensure their empowerment - especially as all the existing primary schools are private.

CDEO has developed an ambitious educational programme. We currently own and run the Ephphatha Institute for the Deaf, a primary school in Kumba. This is being expanded into a model technical and vocational high school, thanks to the recent official approval of the Ministry of National Education. This will be the first ever high school for the deaf in Cameroon. The courses for this high school will include amongst others, computer science, carpentry, masonry, tailoring, catering, art, craftwork, pottery, etc. The Agro-Pastoral Centre will teach the farming of food and cash crops, poultry, pig keeping, bee farming, etc. These activities will help with income generating, and also provide food for the children and eventually make the school financially independent. We already have a small poultry farm and a small maize farm and other crops will be cultivated soon.

On graduation, some of the students will be employed to teach or work in the school and others could become self employed or form joint enterprises with the aid of refundable loans from CDEO.

To realise our dream for the model high school we will continue to seek financial assistance from the Government, which has already given us 5 hectares of land for the project. We intend to continue to seek further assistance from the Kumba Urban Council, where the school is located; to secure scholarships from local councils for the benefit of destitute students or pupils; to seek more grants from the USA and German embassies and the British High Commission in Cameroon and local charitable organisations such as the Serendipity Club of Douala and other international charitable organisations.

Issues encountered:
The challenge of recruiting and training the much needed staff, both
deaf and hearing, as well as securing adequate infrastructure, such as vocational workshops, dormitories, library, classrooms, etc, remains daunting. The realisation of our dream for the high school will involve the deaf pupils and students learning and using Cameroon Sign Language, American Sign Language and French Sign Language, since English and French are the official languages of the country. Fortunately for us, the Department of Linguistics in the Yaounde 1 University is already cooperating with CDEO in organising Cameroon Sign Language and sign language interpreter courses in the University. Foreign professors and researchers in this area can easily find partners in CDEO and the Yaounde 1 University to help us carry out research and develop appropriate training programmes in these fields.
Recommendations:

The success of our programme will largely depend on the co-operation of the parents of our pupils, the students and the general Cameroon public. We are therefore intensifying our public education programme and have embarked on forming provincial associations of parents of deaf children, and eventually we aim to have a national association. Parents of deaf children are taught sign language and also requested to pay equal attention to the education of their deaf children and stop giving reference to children without any disabilities. Public education in deaf awareness is also essential for the eventual integration of the deaf pupils and students in society. The deaf people also need improved health facilities and audiological services which are non-existent in many areas of Cameroon. Where they do exist, they are too costly.

The empowerment of deaf people, children and adults, and their families in Cameroon is a feasible project. It is also imperative if this marginalized group is to enjoy their rightful place in the society. The CDEO counts on all organisations and people of goodwill in Cameroon and elsewhere to become their partners in the empowerment of deaf people in Cameroon. The time is now. The ideas are not lacking but the means at our disposal are insufficient. Give us the means to teach the deaf people in Cameroon, and we’ll learn to teach for ourselves.

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