Lunch Time: Savelugu School for the Deaf

[lovetolisten1313]

what do i have to do to be a volunteer for this school?

[plumkari]

I would imagine that you could just go there and talk to the headmistress and tell her what you are interested in doing and she would say- ok

I was there through peace corps, but they would be totally open to a short term volunteer. You would have to fund yourself though. They might let you stay in the house on grounds that is for volunteers.

[andaninuman]

it reminds me of when i was in ghana

[plumkari]

@andaninuman I would imagine that you could just go there and talk to the headmistress and tell her what you are interested in doing and she would say- ok

I was there through peace corps, but they would be totally open to a short term volunteer. You would have to fund yourself though. They might let you stay in the house on grounds that is for volunteers.

[jb55101]

you are right plumkari born heard of hearing in france but was sent to a home for disabled children before that i was talking some and trying to speak. but when i went to the home all that changed and what speech i had i lost beocuse i didnt use it. hwen i moved to the usa with my family went to school for deaf audlts from other countries and had man born hearing from aferica when he was 6 was hit in the head hard beccame deaf after that he stoped speaking and lost his speach

[atebane]

i've always been curious about sign language across africa (for no reason in particular) but have found that there is very little (if any) information about it. what is the 'joy of signing'? is it SEE or ASL? was this video just from a short visit, or did you volunteer at the school? do they tend to focus on oralism (getting the children to speak) rather than sign language?

[plumkari]

I am actually a Peace Corps Volunteer and have been living here at the deaf school for the last year and a half teaching art. They use ASL mostly. The Joy of Signing is a sign language book from the 80s.

There isn't much oralism. Mostly because there isn't the resources to teach the basic subjects properly, let alone something so complex as oralism. I encourage the students who can speak (maybe they went deaf in an accident) to continue speaking so they don't lose it.

[plumkari]

If you are interested, my ongoing blog is here:

travelingtrees.blogspot. c o m

[atebane]

thank you! i will for sure check out your blog. it looks like you are having the most wonderful experience and would love to have that same opportunity someday. i've done some volunteer work in the philippines, but have yet to discover africa.

[atebane]

what kind of sign language do they use in ghana? is it similar to signed english but with local signs incorporated?

[plumkari]

You are exactly right. It is based on American Sign Language. Many deaf schools use the original "Joy of Signing" as a basis. The schools in the more populated/modern south seem to be almost exactly the same as this whereas the more northern schools incorporate more signs that have been made up by the students due to lack of teachers who have been trained in sign.