Yvonne Okyere Tackles Plight Of Deaf And Mute Children

Ghanaian actress Yvonne Okyere is on a campaign to help children who are deaf and mute in the country. The award-winning actress, who is also practicing Law, is set to launch her organisation dubbed Forgotten Foundation on Saturday, 12th December, 2015 at Kibi, in the Eastern Region.

Forgotten Foundation is an independent, non-political movement formed to ensure that people living with disability receive the care, love and respect for the basic human rights they are entitled to.

Ahead of the launch, Yvonne has released a mini documentary to tell the story of Kibi School for the Deaf, which is the first school to be rolled on to the Forgotten Foundation. The documentary was first aired on Celebrity Fanzone on Viasat1 last Saturday, when Yvonne co-hosted the show with Jessica Opare Saforo, Akosua Hanson and Soraya Mensah. The video will subsequently air on other TV channels including Multi TV’s Adom TV.

The four-minute short video shows the deplorable state in which the school facilities are in. Headmistress of the school, Mrs. Vida Okyere, said the school, is in dire need of solar power to replace the constant purchase of fuel. She also asked for a water storage facility to help the school store their water, which is an essential need at the school.

The Kibi School for the Deaf currently has 260 school children. Among the issues raised were the problems of illegal mining, also known as ‘galamsey’. Senior Housemaster of the school, Mr. Donald Worgbeyi, said the school lies in a galamsey zone, and therefore a lot of galamsey activities go on in the area. The problem is that the illegal miners leave the pits open after their activities, which poses danger to the children because the school is not walled.

The Forgotten Foundation is soliciting for funds from organisations and corporate bodies to assist institutions such as Kibi School for the Deaf to reduce the burden of catering for physically challenged children. Meanwhile, the Forgotten Foundation has received donations from Max Mart, Stellar Group of Companies, House of Food, and other corporate bodies.

Watch the documentary below:

YVONNE FORGOTTEN FOUNDATION1

YVONNE FORGOTTEN FOUNDATION2

YVONNE FORGOTTEN FOUNDATION

YVONNE FORGOTTEN FOUNDATION3