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Talensi, Ghana – Foto4Change, a Ghanaian non-profit organisation has launched its innovative initiative aimed at equipping hearing-impaired pupils with photography and visual storytelling skills at the Gbeogo School for the Deaf in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region.
The initiative, which is known as the “Foto4Change Visual Storytelling for the Deaf” (FVSD) project, was launched in November 2023 with the Savelugu School for the Deaf in the Northern Region as the first beneficiary.
The FVSD project would initially benefit 20 pupils (60% girls and 40% boys) of the Gbeogo School for the Deaf and gradually expand to benefit the remaining over 300 pupils.
Geoffrey Buta, Team Lead for Foto4Change, in his speech during the launch at the Gbeogo School for the Deaf on Friday said, “We believe that stories, when told through the lens of a camera, have the unique ability to transcend barriers of language, geography, and disability.”
He added: “Today, we are not just extending a project; but rather igniting a movement, a movement that will see young, hearing-impaired students from Ghana equipped with the tools and skills to tell their own stories, advocate for social justice, and inspire positive change.
“Our vision is simple yet powerful: to provide deaf and hearing-impaired students with the opportunity to become visual storytellers, to show the world their perspective, and to amplify their voices through photography.”
The Gbeogo School for the Deaf received a brand new Nikon D3100 digital camera, speed light, tripod, battery, battery charger and 16gb memory card to enable them undertake several weeks of photography and visual storytelling training.
Mr. Buta urged the pupils to “step forward and show the world what they are capable of. Use this camera to document your realities, your communities and your dreams. We believe in you, and can’t wait to see the stories you will tell.”
Mr. Vitalis Nibenyel Tuolong, Headteacher of the Gbeogo School for the Deaf expressed gratitude to Foto4Change for extending the FVSD project to his school.
He also encouraged the 20 pupils and their teachers who had been selected to benefit from the visual storytelling training to take every lesson serious so that at the end they could also pass on the knowledge and skills acquired to their colleagues.
The Gbeogo School for the Deaf was started in 1996 by a social worker and chief of the Gbeogo community. The school was later absorbed by the state, and currently, it has a population of over 300 pupils and runs from nursery to junior high school. The school also runs a technical and vocational system that caters for children who desire to learn technical and vocational skills after completing JHS.
By SavannahNewsOnline.Com/Joseph Ziem
