Tiziana Guili

Chiara Di Monte

AN ADDRESS PRESENTED BY:

THE PRINCIPAL OF INTERNATIONAL MODEL SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF (a.k.a. SPECIAL MODEL SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF), AFIKPO, Mr. CHARLES IGWE, ON THE OCCASION OF THE SEND-OFF PARTY ORGANISED FOR THE TWO ITALIAN VOLUNTEER SERVICE WORKERS

TUESDAY, 18^TH MARCH, 2008.

Protocols,

We thank God Almighty, the Giver of diverse gifts, the best Connector, Designer and Manager of all circumstances. We thank Him immensely for this day He had made for us to rejoice and be glad in it. We thank Him equally for connecting and bringing us together with these our sisters, friends and colleagues – Tiziana Guili and Chiara Di Monte – who are rare gifts to the deaf community. They have tirelessly toiled and laboured in our midst for sixty solid days forbearing a lot of discomforts.

Today is really a memorable and a remarkable day in the annals of this school. The event is an epoch making one. We have been having parties of various types and magnitudes, but this is unique and peculiar in various respects. This is the first time we have had the privilege and opportunity of enjoying this type of visit, at least since we relocated from Enugu; though we have played host to different kinds of people especially this fall. Today, we are winding up this term in a grand style.

It is on record that these our friends arrived on this site on 19^th January, 2008; and today, the 18^th day of March, 2008 they have laid down their materials to count their blessings and rejoice with us for a work well done. We are living witnesses that since their arrival, they worked assiduously to redeem every available time. They made most use of every time available to them. They created great impacts among the primary and secondary schools children, among the members of staff and the communities they visited with their lively discussions and affability. We are inclined to believe that they are Italians by birth but Africans by implications and strength. They amply and aptly demonstrated this in their non-discriminatory attitude, approachability, socialisation, endurance and tolerance. They made maximum use of synergistic principles.

The coming of these Italians and their openness did really give the children in our school a rare opportunity to come closer to Whites, interact, touch and ask them questions on variegated issues bordering on personal and universal problems. Their presence also assuaged the deaf children who hitherto thought that deafness is peculiar to Africa. Their presence really confirms that disability is not inability. They really demonstrated the principle that the best policy is turning a defective condition to one’s advantage and that any disability – putative or real – should not be bemoaned. After all, there are diamonds in disability.

Our dear sisters, colleagues and friends, you have come, you have seen, and you have conquered. You have worked closely and deeply with us. Our strengths and weaknesses are very clear to you. Without belabouring the obvious, permit me to state that the management and, indeed, the deaf community here will continue to appreciate your efforts and contributions. We will also appreciate if it more and wider connections are made for us, especially in areas of attracting both financial and material aids. The school needs to have a functional modern skills Acquisition Centre where the students who cannot further their education to tertiary level could acquire one or two skills that could sustain them in life. These areas would include:

Computer Studies (Technology);

Tailoring; Leather Works;

Confectioneries; Hair Dressing/Barbing Salon; etc.

We also need relevant and modern books and instructional materials on Deaf Education to standardise our Library. At this juncture, I want to request that even the Principal needs a Laptop to enhance his work with the Deaf.

It is also the ardent desire of both the school and the children to have an institution of higher learning where those who want to further up to university level could be educated. This could be done through affiliate or associate relationship or alternatively, sought-for scholarships to the deserving students. We have bright and intelligent children in this school who are longing even to study abroad. This request is borne by the fact that there are only three universities in Nigeria where the deaf could be admitted. But even at that, the scope of their area of specialisation is limited and the admission procedure is very competitive. These three universities are very far from the East [eastern Nigeria]. To make matters worse, it is very costly to acquire University education in Nigeria. This is worse to the deaf who are mostly neglected and abandoned by their parents. We believe that if the blind can become a lawyer, an accountant, an architect, and so on, the deaf can be and do better in these and other areas. What the deaf actually need is exposure, guidance and encouragement. We believe that our sisters will take this as a serious assignment and make the necessary connections for us.

We really thank you for your wonderful visit, company, cooperation and understanding. As you prepare to leave us, may the good Lord continue to guide, protect, bless and grant you journey mercies. We look forward to more of this type of visit by you, your friends and colleagues from other parts of the world.

Thank you and God bless.

Charles Igwe,

(PhD in Education)

Principal

The Chairman,

The Director,

The Principal,

Members of Staff,

Fellow Students,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I, on behalf of other members of Boys’ Fellowship and other students welcome you to the Send-off party for our Italian friends and specialists in Special Education. We are very grateful to you for honouring us with your esteemed presence. May God bless each and everyone of you.

Today is a memorable day in our school – a day fixed by the management in collaboration with the other members of staff and students to mark the send-off of our great friends, sisters and colleagues from Italy to help us. I consider myself and our set exceptionally fortunate not only that it is during my time that these ladies came but also by the awareness, experience, association, connections and wealth of knowledge we gained from their coming. Ordinarily, I do not know when and how we could have had such an opportunity. This is rare. This is marvellous. I personally thank God for it.

Through the coming of these Italians, both the students and teachers have started to experience improvement in their teaching, interaction, disposition and accommodation of the deaf in our midst.

We the Boys’ Fellowship Association want to express our gratitude on this rare kind gesture of these White ladies who came here to spend their time, tact and talent with us. We thank them for their encouragement, words of advice, workshops and other invaluable services they rendered to us.

Our prayer is that as they prepare to leave us, may the Almighty God grant them journey mercies to wherever they go. We look forward to meeting again, either physically or through writing. We also look forward to more of this type of visits in future and hope to be connected to the outer world for better and more qualitative training.

We equally pray that as many as are here to honour us in this gathering that God should lead them back to their various destinations.

Mr. C. Abang

President,

Boys’ Fellowship Association

For and on behalf of other students