Mosah Mokganedi
18 April 2008
Gaborone — The Botswana Society for the Deaf (BSD) holds its Annual General Meeting (AGM) this weekend to review its achievements and failures. BSD manager, Orapeleng Mokgosi said they face many constraints in their endeavour to serve the deaf.
She said they have big dreams but they are financially crippled. She said they have aspirations to have a wider reach but this has not been possible because they do not have money. Mokgosi said that the government finances the day-to-day running of the NGO. He revealed that they have a dream of building a national centre for the deaf. The centre will serve as a meeting place for the deaf where they can talk about their problems and achievements. "We need to increase our facilities so as to reach the whole community of Botswana," she said.
Currently the society has centres in Ramotswa and Francistown where it runs schools. Mokgosi said the schools are not able to admit enough students because they are small. The two centres are currently being expanded. Mokgosi said there are mainstream classes in government schools like Tashatha Junior Secondary School that cater for the deaf. She said it is a challenge to have the deaf students attending school with the others though it is also blessing. "We like it when they are in the same schools with the ones that do not have hearing problems because in that way, we are able to realise how they can work together," Mokgosi said.
She added that they cannot determine how many members they have since the NGO has not been able to collect data. However, she said it is very crucial to know the number and soon they will be going around the country to collect data. "We need to know the number of people we are representing," she said.
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