By Danhassan Abubakar
A 4 Day sign language interpretation training for 35 Government officials and CSOs has commenced in Bauchi, with participants sharing their hopes and enthusiasm about the training.
Organised by the USAID funded State2State Activity, in collaboration with the Bauchi State Agency for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) , the training is designed to equip State Government officials in the Health, Education and WASH service delivery sectors of the State MDAs with the basic skills of using sign language to communicate effectively with persons with hearing impairement.
This, according to the Executive Secretary of the Agency, Hon. Brisca Joram Aaron would enable persons with hearing impairment to effectively channel their needs and concerns with trying to access services like health from Government facilities.
Rabiu Garba, an Executive of an International African Initiative known as Mamaye Africa Collective said the training will expose him to sign language communication.
“In my line of work as a development worker who comes across so many segments of human beings, this training will prepare me at any point in time i come across a hearing impaired persons that i need to pass some information to”.
“This training will equally equip me in carrying out advocacy for uptake of health care, education services and also enable me to promote basic hygiene at the grassroot level, targeted at not only one segment of the community but all, including those afflicted with hearing impairment”, said Rabiu Garba of Mamaye Africa Collective.
Zuwaira Baba is the Gender Desk officer (GDO) of the State Ministry of Health. She also shared her enthusiasm with our Correspondent.
“First i want to most sincerely thank USAID State2State Bauchi field and the State Agency for PWDs for their foresight in organising this innovative training. It may interest you to know that State2State had, some time ago, trained some of us in their focused sectors of intervention on Disability Inclusion. That training had raised the awareness of my Ministry and captured our interests which triggered the ministry to include disability inclusion in its Gender Based Violence (GBV) referral pathway”.
Zuwaira Baba, who doubles as the Disability Inclusion Focal Person of the Ministry, also expressed her optimism that the sign language interpreters training will further add significant value to the Ministry’s drive for disability inclusion, especially in accessing healthcare services in government facilities.
Our correspondent reports that the ongoing training, held at the conference hall of Hazibal Hotel Bauchi, will run through until Friday the 22nd of November, 2024.