It was a thrilling display of Deaf abilities, Friday July 30th at 18 Olubukola Ilori Street, Ijaiye-Ojokoro, Lagos. The occasion was celebration of the 17th convocation/graduation of Hope Fountain Schools for the Deaf (HFSD) – a private owned and operated Nur/Pry/Secondary Deaf school reputed to be the best in the Southern part of the country.
For those unacquainted with this silent reckoner in the field of Deaf education in Nigeria, here are a few facts about Hope Fountain Schools:
HFSD is the brainchild and bequest of Mr. Tony Nwokolo, a visionary deaf educationist to the Nigeria Deaf Community.
The school symbolizes a revolution in Deaf education, both in Nigeria and beyond.
HFSD thrives on the educational philosophy of the founder and proprietor, viz: “when the mind is liberated through quality special education, the deaf will hear”
HFSD is reputed to be the best private owned and managed Deaf school in the whole of Southern Nigeria, etc.
And so, on that August gathering, Friday 30th July 2021, it wasn’t just another celebration for obvious reasons… wait for it!
Come to think of it. It isn’t everyday that one boards a flight from far away Maryland in the United States of America to come celebrate with a bosom friend in Nigeria. Well, it happened on this day.
It isn’t everyday that the General Manager of a body like LASODA finds the time to grace a celebratory gathering of special kids, their tutors and parents. Again, HFSD had the privilege on this day. The list could go on but for time and space constraints.
And so it was before an excited audience of parents, invited guests, teachers, and friends of the school that the school proprietor delivered a rousing welcome address in sign language, with speech interpretation. Mr Tony Nwokolo, with due protocol observed, opened his address by reminding his audience of the reasons for celebration. He went on to enumerate notable achievements of the school in the just concluded academics session. Some of the giant strides made despite daunting odds were construction of additional facilities, success of 2019/20 SS3 students in the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations, expeditionary trip to Cotonou, Benin Republic, where the school signed bilateral agreements for partnerships with Deaf schools there, etc.
Mr Daire Dairo, General Manager, LASODA, while addressing the audience congratulated the graduands – charging them to be good ambassadors of the school by making everyone proud. He also had words of enlightenment for the parents on the subject of disability.
The second keynote speaker, Mr. Nwokoma Sampson, a fellow deaf, senior schoolmate and bosom friend of the proprietor had flown in from his base in the USA to be part of the celebrations. The foreign presence of this accomplished deaf, software engineer who works with the government of United States added force and fillip to the occasion.
In his speech, (delivered in sign language, with voice interpretation), Mr. Nwokoma went down memory lane to paint an inspirational recap of surviving the odds posed by deafness to become the success and model he is today. To motivate his student audience, he reiterated the possibility of success despite deafness – himself as a living testimony. And indeed, a scrutiny of the achievements this deaf computer software engineering expert who boasts an MSc degree is a pointer to the ability of the human spirit and a positive mindset to triumph over its circumstances. It is a validation of the saying that “the deaf can do anything except hear”. And that was the central theme of Nwokoma’s charge to his young listeners.
Amongst other salient issues on disabilities, Mr. Sampson directed his speech to disabuse the mind of his listeners, especially parents/guardians on misleading notions about children with disabilities. He joined his voice in the advocacy to demand equal opportunities for Nigerian deaf children to attain their full potentials. He also commended his old friend, Mr. Tony Nwokolo for the thrust of his vision for deaf education. As part of his contribution in support of equal opportunities for education of deaf children, Mr Sampson promised a lump sum for development of the school.
On the light side, and to keep guests entertained, there were cultural displays, dances, song performances, comedy skits, choreography, etc performed by the students.
The event ended with vote of thanks by the proprietor. There was no doubt that guests left with a better impression of the coinage: “DeafAbility” as exemplified by the presence of an outstanding deaf achiever and the students’ superlative performances.