Radio Miraya
2733: MBS. First Sign Language Learning Centre in South Sudan
Tomorrow 14th of May 2024, Juba will witness a landmark event, the official opening of the FAST Sign Language Learning Center in South Sudan. This initiative is not just a step but a giant leap towards inclusivity and equal opportunities for the deaf and heard of hearing in our community. Now joining us on the line straight from Nairobi is Edmund Yacani, the Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, who is a driving force behind this particular project. Let's dive deep to the motivation behind this pioneering project, explore the impact it aims to have on our society and also find out how each one of us can play a part in fostering an inclusive environment right here in Juba. Edmund Yacani, good morning. Yeah, good morning. Good morning, Irene. Good morning to listeners of Nairobi. Just tell us, just can you tell our listeners about what led to the creation of this Sign Language Learning Center? As you are aware that our society is composed of people who are in power and in terms of listening or what we describe as deaf and we have them that they communicate through signs. So we are at a high population of deaf South Sudanese whom we feel they have disability in terms of access to information, in terms of sharing information or communicating and as you are aware, communication information is a power, a really foundation for growth of society or development of a human being. So for me that's the background and these make us as separate after we campaign for the UN Convention and the rise of person's disability. It's of some protocol being signed by the country and sent into a law and submitted to UN and even Secretary General communicated on the 6th of March that immediately officials would enforce their rights or persons with disability. So we pulled out one of the more important elements of the rise of person's disability. It is really strengthening an inclusive communication between them and between those who may speak using mouth or verbal communication. So the only communication in the sign language and that brings us to ensure that our people who are deaf communicate with them without any limitations, without any restrictions, without any challenges. That's why we established the sign language and in the first of its kind in South Sudan and likely it's going to be first of its kind in the region that we have an open public sign language center that everybody can learn sign language and that helps us to communicate in different institutions within the private sector, within the government institutions, within the non-governmental organizations. The persons who are deafed by nature will join us and they will enjoy their rights as people as us who are speaking vocal or verbally. Right and when we speak about inclusivity that means even the people who are not living with them any impairment will also need to learn the sign language so that we are able to also communicate with our brothers and sisters in the community. So what can attendees were expected? I mean, what can these other people like myself, if I am interested, am I able to learn sign language in the center? You are able to learn sign language in the center. What you need to do is to acquire the intake list. Then you just fill the intake list, there will be a second. Then you can attend the classes prior description. What hours do you meet and which phase of the week do you need? It's deeply determined because we want to encourage the working class in the private sector, in the UN agencies, in various institutions in the private sector to apply for the sign language because it helps us in communicating and our target is specifically journalists, police, judges, people over, law enforcement agencies, in military, people like in the parliament, parliamentarians. So these are targets that we meet, but also we feel people in the markets who come. Scopes, I tell our dream is that in one year time we may introduce sign language as an extra curriculum in schools in the city of high learning so that people will have, we dream that every person needs to learn how to use sign language for communication. So it's an open one. It's sort of expensive. It's very cheap. And also there are scholars who will attack the sign language. So I will cut you really everything after the launch tomorrow should be looked for the intake and the intake form you can get from separate office but also going to put it online. You're going to create an online so where everybody can print the intake from our website and from there you can apply. And if you tell us when do you want to learn in which particular hour, in which particular day so because so we could create a conducive environment for the learners to learn sign language. Right and is it coming at a cost? There's no cost attached to it. The only thing you have, you have a phone fees which is very affordable which are at £1,000 on the ticket. But also we have open a window for the beginning, at least for the next six months, we want to do free intake for those who can apply. So I'd like to announce for those who are interested, we want to apply immediately from tomorrow onward, try to look for the intake form from separate office and be the first and get it free. One day you'll end up as a tutor in the center because we want to build our national teachers. Right and this is really a very important project. So what can the attendees expect from the opening day tomorrow? Tomorrow we'll be having opening speeches. We are expecting, we're sending invitations to the presidency president. We have expanded invitation to the honorable minister of general education and instruction. We have expanded invitation to honorable minister of gender, child and social welfare and some diplomatic missions and to the organization of persons with disability, the South Sudan national association of death, to extend it to them. So tomorrow it will be in pyramid and we hope our leaders will turn out and our leaders will launch it and our leaders will declare that we have to make a sign language as one of the communication or methodology that every South Sudan sign language and if whoever comes South Sudan death will find an easy way to communicate with us and can communicate with them. Right and I couldn't agree more with you Edmonde. Thank you for sharing this wonderful initiative with us. It sounds like a fantastic addition to our community and yes, you are in Nairobi. You are attending the talks, the ongoing high-level talks in Nairobi. As civil society, just before I let you go, this is an opportunity that I have with you. How would you describe the talks and are you optimistic that there is light at the end of this tunnel? For the body language, for the attitude that I have seen among the political leaders here, which as you know, I am aware I was involved in this process right from this time, this time around, at least in Nairobi, the body language, the communication, even the presentations in the hall on Saturday and yesterday was the day of lobby where the government is preparing its response. As I speak with you right now, we are soon entered to the hall to listen to the response of the government to the presentation presented by the non-signatories and at the civil society. I have a hope that Nairobi will yield results. But of course, as civil society, our hall is that we don't want to see power sharing agreement. We need to see really commitment to constitutional making process, but this constitutional making process will sanction our country to a principle of good governance and democratic governance and want to make sure that also security is a big issue that we need to tackle, we need to go to constitution, with the security we can't do anything. So for us, the call is around committing ourselves to constitutional agreement that will make a constitution as an instrument of addressing the underlying factor of political instability in the country. Because even if you define the root causes here, if you don't trust, that doesn't cause it in terms of solution into a constitutional approach, still in future, we will relax back to violence. So as civil society, our call is that let us come to the commitment towards constitutional making process. But otherwise, the environment is okay, the politicians are interacting. Everybody is here, General Paul, Malong is here, Pagana-Mum is here, Stephen Boyd is here, we have the group of moms, which is called the Verso Council, they are here. Everybody is here, and we are expecting General Simon Gattuis to join us either today or tomorrow with a society. We push for him to be there, in particular, I'm one of the person who called him and reached out to him, and we push the team leader to bring on board. I say, we want to make sure that this space is a space for bringing lasting peace, but not center on power, sharing. It's much more center on constitutional agreement. Right, Admonia Kani, thank you so much for your time. Thank you, sir.