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Ivory Coast: The National Association of the Deaf deplore a one School for the Deaf

At the end of the second WCARS project forum held from 8th to 12th April 2019 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, a study visit to the stakeholders was organized by the WCARS project. It was in fact a workshop on the situation of the Deaf people in Ivory Coast.

The meeting took place on April 12th, 2019 at the headquarters of the Federation of the Persons with Disabilities (FAHCI) in Abidjan. This meeting initiated by the WCARS project had seen the participation of representatives of the Association of the Deaf of Denmark, Ghana, Mali and Ivory Coast on one hand and representatives of FAHCI and the Ivorian media of the other hand.

The president of FAHCI, Mr. Raphaël Dogo deplored the existence of a one school for the Deaf in Ivory Coast. The structure is located in the Yopougon district of Abidjan. Unlike in Ghana where there are sixteen (16) schools for the Deaf, the president of FAHCI, pleaded for the State of Ivory Coast to deal with the case of the Deaf people in the country. “The needs of the Deaf are not taken into account. The Ivorian government grants 152 million CFA (about 231,707 euros) to the associations of the persons with disabilities. In practice, this amount is not entirely collected by the associations. People create fictitious associations to collect funds. Capacity building training for the Deaf must continue. Theoretically, the government is doing good things. The State is taking action but there is no follow-up“, he said, welcoming the initiative of the RTI television which, for more than 15 years, has a Sign Language Interpreter who translates news into sign language for the deaf people.

The deaf community of Ivory Coast feels marginalized. Left to their own devices, the members of the deaf community want the State and organizations who focus on the disability to be more attentive to their living conditions. Ouattara Yéguéléworo, president of the Association Nationale des Sourds de Côte-d´Ivoire (ANASOCI), deplored the lack of local support for the association. Convinced that one of the main difficulties of the association is the lack of local support, the president of ANASOCI pleaded to the State and the NGOs to support. “At the local level, we have no support. It is at the international level that we benefit from supports such as the Association of the Deaf, Denmark and DANIDA which is an international organization for People with Disability of Denmark. One of the main challenges facing is the lack of local support. We are drawing the attention of the government to local support, ” he said.

Emmanuel Sackey, a Board member of the West and Central Africa Regional Secretariat of the World Federation of the Deaf (WCARS), said: In Ivory Coast, there is a problem of employability for the Deaf. Deaf people do not have access to information. If at least at government level, one could recruit a Sign Language Interpreter to inform the deaf people, that would really be a commendable support. In Ghana, we no longer have this problem”.

Let us hope that the cry of despair delivered by both ANASOCI and FAHCI will be heard.