Volleyball Court at the Tetteh Ocloo State School for the Deaf in Ghana

We were very pleased to collaborate with Mr. Hamidu Yussif and the Tetteh Ocloo State School for the Deaf. In his compelling grant application, Mr. Yussif wrote:

“I transferred to the State School for the Deaf (SSD) in 2002 after I lost my hearing, and the school has nurtured me and taught me to become who I am today. It was at SSD that I first began to learn sign language and develop my identity as a Deaf person. My experiences there helped me realize that deafness is not a curse. Before , I thought I was the only Deaf person in the world, but my education at SSD exposed me to others just like me all over the world. Seeing successful Deaf individuals and role models gave me a powerful feeling of optimism…

…SSD has improved greatly over the years with many more educational facilities, including classrooms, a library, a clinic, a dining hall, and dormitories. Unfortunately, it does not have any fields where students can exercise or practice sports during their leisure time. Imagine being stuck in a boarding school with no sports or recreational facilities! During my time as student, we participated in various sports activities in district and inter-regional sports competitions, but we had to walk three miles away to use a neighborhood school field to perform training. I want to make it easier for the current students at SSD pursue their passion for sports. Volleyball is the best fit for what the students and staff currently need, as there is only limited land available. Both the boys and the girls will be excited to be able to play. Eventually, we hope to gain enough land to build a soccer field and netball court. For now, however, the focus is on the volleyball court.”

We look forward to supporting this community with additional sports facilities in the near future!