DEAF BOY MAKES HISTORY IN UCE
Feb 10, 2009
PROFILE<br><br>HIS face lights up as he edges his right hand forward. His handshake is firm.
PROFILE
BY F. WOMAKUYU
HIS face lights up as he edges his right hand forward. His handshake is firm.
“I am happy to be here,†he says. When I welcome him, I receive no answer, except a nod, an indication that he has understood me, but cannot hear.
He writes on a piece of paper: “I wish to share my success with you.â€
Benjamin Wacha, 16, has been deaf for two years. At Bishop Cipriano Kihangire SSS, Luzira, where he studies, Wacha could not hear what is being taught, but relied on reading,writing and a little bit of sign language.
Many would expect a boy of this nature to fail exams, but when the Uganda Certificate of Education results were released recently, Wacha had aggregate19 in 8 subjects including distinctions in physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics.
His dream to become a computer scientist pushes him to work hard. “I have a passion for computers,†he says. “When I joined Senior One, I learnt that sciences were key to my dream.â€
But when Wacha was about to join Senior Three, disaster struck: “I became deaf. I do not know how it happened,†he says.
“I cried and life was hard. Many people encouraged me but I was hopeless,†Wacha says.
It was hard to play with normal children. “At first I could pick some words from reading people’s lips but with time I could not,†he adds.
After seeking treatment without success, Wacha got a solution.
“I relied on my teachers and fellow students. They gave me extra lessons. They wrote down and I replied by also writing.â€
“Constant concentration drove the point into my brain and when examinations came, I was ready,†Wacha says.After reading, he played basketball.
He says he was stigmatised by some students. “Some made fun of me and at times chaseed me away,†he says.
Wacha says that he believes God has a reason for making him deaf.
Charles Rubongoya, the school’s director of studies, says Wacha is bright and disciplined. “We gave him and others in his category special care,†he says.
“We plan to ask the ministry to allow us recruit teachers with special needs to help,†he adds.
Born in a family of six children in Lira district, Wacha learnt how to work at an early age. He lost his mother in 2003, but his father is alive.
“It was a disappointment to lose my mother. My father stays in the USA and I feel lonely. He is supportive but I need him closer,†he says.
Wacha stays with his aunt and they are working hard to buy him hearing aids. “I want to make my life and that of others better,†he adds.
Wacha hopes to study physics, economics, mathematics and technical drawing, at A ’Level.
“I want to tell the world that disability is not inability. Anybody can excel if they work hard,†Wacha concludes.
BY F. WOMAKUYU
HIS face lights up as he edges his right hand forward. His handshake is firm.
“I am happy to be here,†he says. When I welcome him, I receive no answer, except a nod, an indication that he has understood me, but cannot hear.
He writes on a piece of paper: “I wish to share my success with you.â€
Benjamin Wacha, 16, has been deaf for two years. At Bishop Cipriano Kihangire SSS, Luzira, where he studies, Wacha could not hear what is being taught, but relied on reading,writing and a little bit of sign language.
Many would expect a boy of this nature to fail exams, but when the Uganda Certificate of Education results were released recently, Wacha had aggregate19 in 8 subjects including distinctions in physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics.
His dream to become a computer scientist pushes him to work hard. “I have a passion for computers,†he says. “When I joined Senior One, I learnt that sciences were key to my dream.â€
But when Wacha was about to join Senior Three, disaster struck: “I became deaf. I do not know how it happened,†he says.
“I cried and life was hard. Many people encouraged me but I was hopeless,†Wacha says.
It was hard to play with normal children. “At first I could pick some words from reading people’s lips but with time I could not,†he adds.
After seeking treatment without success, Wacha got a solution.
“I relied on my teachers and fellow students. They gave me extra lessons. They wrote down and I replied by also writing.â€
“Constant concentration drove the point into my brain and when examinations came, I was ready,†Wacha says.After reading, he played basketball.
He says he was stigmatised by some students. “Some made fun of me and at times chaseed me away,†he says.
Wacha says that he believes God has a reason for making him deaf.
Charles Rubongoya, the school’s director of studies, says Wacha is bright and disciplined. “We gave him and others in his category special care,†he says.
“We plan to ask the ministry to allow us recruit teachers with special needs to help,†he adds.
Born in a family of six children in Lira district, Wacha learnt how to work at an early age. He lost his mother in 2003, but his father is alive.
“It was a disappointment to lose my mother. My father stays in the USA and I feel lonely. He is supportive but I need him closer,†he says.
Wacha stays with his aunt and they are working hard to buy him hearing aids. “I want to make my life and that of others better,†he adds.
Wacha hopes to study physics, economics, mathematics and technical drawing, at A ’Level.
“I want to tell the world that disability is not inability. Anybody can excel if they work hard,†Wacha concludes.