The Ghana National Association of the Deaf (GNAD) has organized a capacity building workshop sign language interpreters at Akropong Akwapim in the Eastern Region.
The five-day workshop which was meant to build the capacity of participants in order to train others in their various regions.
In an address, the Administrator of GNAD, Ebenezer Addo Asamoah said the workshop was meant to sharpen the skills of the sign language interpreters.
He said since interpreters are not many in the communities, they are being are been trained so that they will go out and train others in their communities since the deaf need information and it is only through these interpreters such information could be accessed.
Mr Asamoah appealed to the government to recognise sign language as a language on its own like other languages.
The President of the GNAD, Samuel Kwasi Asare asked the participant to play an advocacy role as interpreters in their communities.
He asked them not to rest on their ours but to continue the crusade in bringing to the door step of the virtually impaired critical information they may need.
Mr Asare called on the participants to seize the opportunity offered them to build their capacity and become effective trainer of trainees in their communities.
Mr Godfred Kwame Tay, who represented the Director of Special Education Division of the Ghana Education Service, called for the need to create national awareness and significance of sign language to the hearing impaired.
He said most of the hearing impaired persons in the society are being deprived of fulfilling their ambition because of the lack of sign language interpreters in some of the professional institutions.
Mr Tay said “as a result of these challenges many deaf people who could have gone beyond the level of teaching are compelled to become teachers because it is the only profession where sign language interpreters could be found.”
He called on other institutions to emulate the educational institutions by taking on board sign language interpreters for the benefit of the deaf.
A resource person for the workshop, Dr. Philemon Akach, of the University of Free State, South Africa and Head of Department of Afro-Asiatic Studies, Sign Language and Language Practice stressed the need for urgent attention to be given to sign language interpreting on the visual electronic area.
The five-day workshop which was meant to build the capacity of participants in order to train others in their various regions.
In an address, the Administrator of GNAD, Ebenezer Addo Asamoah said the workshop was meant to sharpen the skills of the sign language interpreters.
He said since interpreters are not many in the communities, they are being are been trained so that they will go out and train others in their communities since the deaf need information and it is only through these interpreters such information could be accessed.
Mr Asamoah appealed to the government to recognise sign language as a language on its own like other languages.
The President of the GNAD, Samuel Kwasi Asare asked the participant to play an advocacy role as interpreters in their communities.
He asked them not to rest on their ours but to continue the crusade in bringing to the door step of the virtually impaired critical information they may need.
Mr Asare called on the participants to seize the opportunity offered them to build their capacity and become effective trainer of trainees in their communities.
Mr Godfred Kwame Tay, who represented the Director of Special Education Division of the Ghana Education Service, called for the need to create national awareness and significance of sign language to the hearing impaired.
He said most of the hearing impaired persons in the society are being deprived of fulfilling their ambition because of the lack of sign language interpreters in some of the professional institutions.
Mr Tay said “as a result of these challenges many deaf people who could have gone beyond the level of teaching are compelled to become teachers because it is the only profession where sign language interpreters could be found.”
He called on other institutions to emulate the educational institutions by taking on board sign language interpreters for the benefit of the deaf.
A resource person for the workshop, Dr. Philemon Akach, of the University of Free State, South Africa and Head of Department of Afro-Asiatic Studies, Sign Language and Language Practice stressed the need for urgent attention to be given to sign language interpreting on the visual electronic area.
