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Larry Musa recently was named the initial recipient of The Cyber Eagles Yemi Tella Award © 2008 reserved for Nigeria’s Best Football Fan - based on their sacrifice and selfless service. Considering his contributions to both country and extended community he represents the epitome of all the characteristics that set Yemi Tella apart from every one else. While the cash that comes with the award will go a long way towards hiring another Teacher for the Nasarawa School of the Deaf, it will fall a little short in terms of securing their services for a whole year. Considering this we are appealing to any readers willing to contribute to the casuse to select one of the 2 options below and send us what you can. We promise to keep you abreast regarding the difference your money continues to make back home.
DEAFENING IS THE SOUND OF SILENCE 
The wail of a new infants cry, the crash of thunder, the climatic moan of a satisfied lover, the communal bond of cheering fans, the hypnotic call to prayer of the Azan, or even the muted but emphatic roar of a big city African market - these are all some of the important sounds that most of us have all been privileged to grow up with. They have been burned into our Medullas' as either pleasant or unpleasant reminders where they can be easily retrieved to relive memory after memory over and over again. Imagine been robbed of this ability and life suddenly takes on a new twist resulting in a different hue.
It suddenly not only becomes more difficult but almost always more complicated as we are now shut out of partaking in the sounds that document as well as enhance life on Planet Earth. To make matters worse research by Amy Blount, the acclaimed deaf linguist working in the field of sign language sadly reveals that "in modern times though most hearing people understand that deafness is not a sign of a mental deficiency, it is still a widespread view that a deaf person is afflicted with a disability and should be seen as having a handicap". Talk about adding insult to injury.
In any case deaf individuals will encounter these views throughout their lifetime, but perhaps at no time more so than when it becomes necessary to seek employment. They are faced with the task of finding a job while being confronted by ignorant misconceptions oft manifested in the form of out right prejudice. This is especially bad in developing countries where enforced laws in favor of assimilating the deaf into the labor force are in all honesty non existent. Unlike in Africa for example where unskilled and skilled labor positions oft remain the only viable option for this important part of the continents citizenry, in the West a successful educational background in conjunction with open minded employers (as well as the laws pointed out above) more often than not, allow many deaf men and women to attain their true potential and rise up the hierarchy ladder regardless of profession.
One specific case study that comes to mind is occurring in Nigeria 's Nasarawa State where such a tragedy is still unfolding in the present tense. The latter as we know was carved out of the old Plateau State on October 1, 1996.. Up till then it had only one deaf school called "The Plateau School for the Deaf" that served the entire state which then had a mind boggling population of approximately 5 million people. Founded in 1977 by Mr. Ezekiel Sambo, a graduate of the fabled Gallaudet University the only Liberal Arts University for the Deaf its purpose was to serve the needy by providing a grass roots education and spring board for better things to come.
Unfortunately while the creation of the new state - at least on paper - may have had many advantages, it also came with the usual complications that arise whenever relatives are divided regardless of rhyme or reason. In this case it now locked out all students based in Nasarawa from attending the Plateau School because they had become non residents of the latter virtually overnight. Just like that….it was as if the Federal Government of Nigeria had drawn a chalk line through countless lives suggesting that their future had now become inconsequential to the Nation.
To make matters worse despite repeated assurances from various Governments and hints the money had actually been allocated for a project in Nasarawa we sit at the same cross road more than a decade later. I agree whole heartedly with Godwin Irokaba (a deaf Nigerian studying at Gallaudet University on a prestigious Ford Foundation Fellowship) who in a recent Washington Post article about providing children with hearing loss an avenue to education and self belief said "Deaf children must be taught to believe in themselves first," he said. "But they also need people they can look at and say: 'If these people can do things with their lives, then we can, too. We can start something. We can stand up for ourselves.' I know it can be done."
Sigh! Never have truer words been spoken.
MANY WERE CALLED BUT ONLY A LUCKY FEW CHOSEN...WE AIM TO REVERSE THIS
Our unequivocal love for football is what brought us together initially. Though we had know of each other via the Cyber Eagles web site, I met the pair of Larry Musa and Gbenga Aina (both graduates and current Managers at Gallaudet) for the first time in Washington when we watched the Super Falcons defeat Denmark in the Women's World Cup in 1999. Right from the very first hand shake I was blown away by their intellect and carriage and immediately was thank full that they had evolved into the men they had become and had not let anything stand in their way. Just as Beethoven had refused to be halted by his deafness these two had remained focused and become envelope pushers extraordinaire.
Fortunately land, one of the major hurdles hindering any extension of the school has now been secured courtesy of a "pro bono" gift by Chief of The Duglu Kingdom, His Excellency Mr. Jonathan Iwala. With Lafia, the State Capital within spitting distance this new centralized Mecca for the deaf will be made accessible to all in the entire State to not just take advantage of the benefits of a good education, but also develop self esteem and all relevant social skills imperative to succeed in the 21st Century. Carpe Diem!
Larry who for the record was one of the Coaches affiliated with USA 's Deaf Soccer team recent turn around, became deaf at the age of 12 and recently concluded a fact finding study in his own village Duglu of circa 2000 inhabitants. Focusing strictly on children he identified 15 or about 0.08% of the population who were either completely deaf or hard of hearing. Using that as a base and extrapolating this figure to the whole of Nasarawa State with a 2006 population of about 2 million inhabitants, we can conclude that there is the probability of about 160,000 deaf and hard of hearing children in that State alone.
Galvanized into action by the alarming findings above, as well as the inability of both the Federal and Nasarawa Governments to do anything tangible Larry did the next best thing a concerned son of the soil would do. He simply built his own school and hired the solitary teacher and paid his salary in advance for 1year out of his pocket. The Duglu School for the Deaf opened in the spring of 2006 and though it consisted initially of bare Spartan like classrooms housed in one of Larry's Mother's houses, it has been nothing short of an outstanding success. The initial plan Larry confided, was to start small teaching the 15 children earlier identified with hearing loss in Duglu and hope that the State Government would recognize the efforts being put forth and subsequently take over the operations allowing it to become a fully fledged institution managed by the Nasarawa State Department of Education Special Education Unit.
Amazingly just a mere month after his return to the USA he received an ecstatic letter from the School informing him that the project had blossomed into something much bigger. It seems word of mouth of the school went around the surrounding villages and within just a couple of weeks the school had doubled its enrollment to 32 eager students
As insinuated above, the school is financially sustained strictly by the personal endeavors and meager resources of the aforementioned philanthropists. However to obtain the best results academically research indicates that for Deaf students to thrive properly, the proper classroom ratio is 10 – 15 students to one teacher. So to get the school to the next level and hopefully to the attention of the State Government, and upgrade is unavoidable.
Fortunately land, one of the major hurdles hindering any extension of the school has now been secured courtesy of a "pro bono" gift by Chief of The Duglu Kingdom, His Excellency Mr. Jonathan Iwala. With Lafia, the State Capital within spitting distance this new centralized Mecca for the deaf will be made accessible to all in the entire State to not just take advantage of the benefits of a good education, but also develop self esteem and all relevant social skills imperative to succeed in the 21st Century. Carpe Diem!
BEAMING PARENTS WITH THE SCHOOL STAFF AND LARRY (EXTREME RIGHT)
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Posted by Robot| 22.09.2008 10:50