Tribute to Efo Komla Afeke Dumor

(A dirge by Kofi Awoonor the late R.I.P)

Dzogbese Lisa has treated me thus

It has led me among the sharps of the forest
Returning is not possible
And going forward is a great difficulty
The

 affairs of this world are like the chameleon faeces
Into which I have stepped
When I clean it cannot go.
I am on the world's extreme corner,
I am not sitting in the row with the eminent
But those who are lucky
Sit in the middle and forget
I am on the world's extreme corner
I can only go beyond and forget.
My people, I have been somewhere
If I turn here, the rain beats me
If I turn there the sun burns me
The firewood of this world
Is for only those who can take heart
That is why not all can gather it.
The world is not good for anybody
But you are so happy with your fate;
Alas! The travelers are back
All covered with debt.

II
Something has happened to me
The things so great that I cannot weep;
I have no sons to fire the gun when I die
And no daughters to wail when I close my mouth
I have wandered on the wilderness
The great wilderness men call life
The rain has beaten me,
And the sharp stumps cut as keen as knives
I shall go beyond and rest.
I have no kin and no brother,
Death has made war upon our house;
And Kpet's great household is no more,
Only the broken fence stands;
And those who dared not look in his face
Have come out as men.
How well their pride is with them.
Let those gone before take not
They have treated their offspring badly.
What is the wailing for?
Somebody is dead. Agosu himself
Alas! A snake has bitten me
My right arm is broken,
And the tree on which I lean is fallen
Agosu if you go tell them,
Tell Nyidevu, Kpeti and Kove
That they have done us evil;
Tell them their house is falling
And the trees in the fence
Have been eaten by termites:
That the martels curse them.
Ask them why they idle there
While we suffer, and eat sand,
And the crow and the vulture
Hover always above our broken fences
And strangers walk over our portion.

A SPECIAL NEEDS CLASSES

Background

The Special Needs Classes was established in 2008. It has two (2) stream classrooms with a total number of nineteen (19) children with intellectual disabilities; fourteen (14) are male while five (5) are female. There are three (3) special teachers in the school with one (1) attendant.

As the normal practice in some other special schools in the country, the Special Needs Classes lack the necessary play and development materials for the children including appropriate chairs and tables. Further, the two classes have no electricity and most parents find it very difficult to send their children with intellectual disability to the school due to

1.     The nature of the school and

2.     Discrimination attitude of some taxi drivers to pick their children to and from school.

Meanwhile, it is the responsibility of government of all countries to ensure that children with disabilities receive good quality education in an inclusive environment. Also, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) recognizes the right of all children with disabilities both to be included in the general education systems and to receive the individual support they require.

It is an established fact that inclusion of children with disabilities in education is important for four main reasons.

1.       Education contributes to human capital and is thus a key determinant of personal well-being and welfare for people with disabilities.

2.       Excluding children with disabilities from educational and employment opportunities has high social and economic costs. For example, adults with disabilities tend to be poorer than those without disabilities, but education changes this status.

3.       Countries cannot achieve “Education for All” or the Millennium Development Goal of universal completion of primary education without ensuring access to education for children with disabilities.

4.       Countries that are signatories to the UN Convention on the Right of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) cannot fulfill their responsibilities under Article 24 of the CRPD.

Conclusion

The Unit Head of the Special Needs Classes   needs the following play and development materials to enable them support the special needs children to learn basic life skills for a living:

·            E-toys and puzzles,

·            TV set and play & development CDs,

·            Painting Furniture,

·            Electricity and support to pay the electricity bills,

·            Vehicle to be conveying the children to and from school.

How well do we care or perform our social responsibilities ?????

 This is where the teaching materials are kept

The nature of the classroom

 This is the Classroom 

 This is what i mean...............