Miss-Delectable
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The Freeport News - Russell is passionate about helping the hearing impaired
A female resident with a big passion for helping the hearing impaired is calling on concerned citizens to support the formation of an organization in Grand Bahama that will enable them to lead productive lives.
Mary Russell, a committed and civic-minded individual who has been assisting the deaf community for the last 19 years, says not only is an organization needed that will provide motivation and resources for such persons, but it will demonstrate to the Government a good reason why consideration must be given to make the disabled people of the country a priority.
Furthermore, she wishes arrangements could be made to have sign language communication for the deaf during national announcements or at times when important information is being presented to the public. Russell noted that 'closed captioning' is not always available on television and if it is available, nothing comes up for the most part when local programmes are aired on ZNS.
Speaking to The Freeport News yesterday at the office of the Council for the Disabled, Russell said there are a number of deaf persons on the island who cannot read lips and only know how to communicate through sign language. She said with so many things happening throughout The Bahamas, they need to know like those who can hear, what is taking place around them.
"I believe that an organization that will offer support to the deaf in Grand Bahama is very much needed. There are a good number of deaf people here on the island that I know of, so I wish that something like this could happen like tomorrow. An organization for the deaf is very much needed because you have children who are born everyday and some of them are born deaf," she said. "Some of them did not get a chance to go to school because in years gone by people were ashamed to let others know their child was deaf, so they hid them in the house and those children never got to receive any form of education including knowledge of sign language."
Unfortunately, Russell said there are not that many people who deal with the deaf on a daily basis who can communicate with them through sign language. Whether they be family members of the deaf individuals or persons offering service to them, a lot of people do not know how to deal with them.
"Here in Grand Bahama, it seems as if not that many people are interested in disabled people," she said. "I like working with them, that is my calling, but there are people who do not view helping such people as important or even participating in anything that will benefit them."
In fact, Russell said every year she organizes a trip for her deaf friends so that they can be exposed to things going on outside the country like retreats and conferences that educate and motivate them on how to deal with living without hearing.
Russell noted that although she has a passion to see an organization being formed to further help the deaf people she has grown to love, she does not know who to go to or how she should go about doing it. She said there was once 70 people here in Grand Bahama who were involved with the deaf, but over the years the number of people involved dwindled away.
"For some reason, it seems as if folks here in Grand Bahama have no special interest in handicapped people, the blind or even the hearing impaired," she said. "We see them all around, but nobody would say lets go the extra mile and do something meaningful for them.
"If there is someone out there who can help, I would be more than happy to do my part if there was someone who would step up to the plate and say okay I have heard what you have said, I want to help, this is where we can go from here."
Russell, who is a member of Tabernacle Baptist Church, said she was first introduced to learning sign language years ago when her church invited a missionary, who operated a ministry for deaf people, to come and teach how to properly communicate with the hearing impaired.
She said leaders of the ministry travelled all over the world teaching sign language and when they discover a person or persons who are willing to utilize what they have been taught to assist deaf people, they then leave charging those persons with continuing the work. Russell said a deaf ministry was later formed at Tabernacle.
"Personally, I work with the deaf. I like to do everything with them," she said. "I am usually called upon to interpret for the deaf in the courts, for lawyers and even doctors. I love doing it because as a Christian woman I know it is what I have been called to do."
Paula Bazzard, an employee of Insurance Management who is deaf, agrees that such an organization is necessary in Grand Bahama and said once plans are made to have it formed, she would very much like to be a part of it.
Derek Nottage, immediate past president of the Grand Bahama Council for the Disabled said the council as an advocacy group will certainly seek to facilitate persons who are hearing impaired just as they assist all persons with disability.
Nottage said provision for a person to communicate with sign language during important public announcements is an excellent idea and it is something that the Council in Grand Bahama and New Providence have been agitating for a number of years.
"It goes back to legislation, we feel that once there are persons with disabilities, there should be equal opportunity and when we talk about dissemination of information, if that's what it takes for them to access the information then make that available to those persons," Nottage said. "I don't think we should wait until something happens, we have to become more proactive than reactive. We here in The Bahamas seem to always take that position."
SUPPORT FOR THE DEAF — Mary Russell, a civic-minded individual who works with the deaf community of Grand Bahama, says an organization to offer support to them is very much needed and calls for the relevant authorities to have sign language communication for the deaf during national announcements. Pictured from left to right are: Derek Nottage, immediate past president of the Grand Bahama Council for the Disabled; Russell (standing) and Paula Bazzard.
A female resident with a big passion for helping the hearing impaired is calling on concerned citizens to support the formation of an organization in Grand Bahama that will enable them to lead productive lives.
Mary Russell, a committed and civic-minded individual who has been assisting the deaf community for the last 19 years, says not only is an organization needed that will provide motivation and resources for such persons, but it will demonstrate to the Government a good reason why consideration must be given to make the disabled people of the country a priority.
Furthermore, she wishes arrangements could be made to have sign language communication for the deaf during national announcements or at times when important information is being presented to the public. Russell noted that 'closed captioning' is not always available on television and if it is available, nothing comes up for the most part when local programmes are aired on ZNS.
Speaking to The Freeport News yesterday at the office of the Council for the Disabled, Russell said there are a number of deaf persons on the island who cannot read lips and only know how to communicate through sign language. She said with so many things happening throughout The Bahamas, they need to know like those who can hear, what is taking place around them.
"I believe that an organization that will offer support to the deaf in Grand Bahama is very much needed. There are a good number of deaf people here on the island that I know of, so I wish that something like this could happen like tomorrow. An organization for the deaf is very much needed because you have children who are born everyday and some of them are born deaf," she said. "Some of them did not get a chance to go to school because in years gone by people were ashamed to let others know their child was deaf, so they hid them in the house and those children never got to receive any form of education including knowledge of sign language."
Unfortunately, Russell said there are not that many people who deal with the deaf on a daily basis who can communicate with them through sign language. Whether they be family members of the deaf individuals or persons offering service to them, a lot of people do not know how to deal with them.
"Here in Grand Bahama, it seems as if not that many people are interested in disabled people," she said. "I like working with them, that is my calling, but there are people who do not view helping such people as important or even participating in anything that will benefit them."
In fact, Russell said every year she organizes a trip for her deaf friends so that they can be exposed to things going on outside the country like retreats and conferences that educate and motivate them on how to deal with living without hearing.
Russell noted that although she has a passion to see an organization being formed to further help the deaf people she has grown to love, she does not know who to go to or how she should go about doing it. She said there was once 70 people here in Grand Bahama who were involved with the deaf, but over the years the number of people involved dwindled away.
"For some reason, it seems as if folks here in Grand Bahama have no special interest in handicapped people, the blind or even the hearing impaired," she said. "We see them all around, but nobody would say lets go the extra mile and do something meaningful for them.
"If there is someone out there who can help, I would be more than happy to do my part if there was someone who would step up to the plate and say okay I have heard what you have said, I want to help, this is where we can go from here."
Russell, who is a member of Tabernacle Baptist Church, said she was first introduced to learning sign language years ago when her church invited a missionary, who operated a ministry for deaf people, to come and teach how to properly communicate with the hearing impaired.
She said leaders of the ministry travelled all over the world teaching sign language and when they discover a person or persons who are willing to utilize what they have been taught to assist deaf people, they then leave charging those persons with continuing the work. Russell said a deaf ministry was later formed at Tabernacle.
"Personally, I work with the deaf. I like to do everything with them," she said. "I am usually called upon to interpret for the deaf in the courts, for lawyers and even doctors. I love doing it because as a Christian woman I know it is what I have been called to do."
Paula Bazzard, an employee of Insurance Management who is deaf, agrees that such an organization is necessary in Grand Bahama and said once plans are made to have it formed, she would very much like to be a part of it.
Derek Nottage, immediate past president of the Grand Bahama Council for the Disabled said the council as an advocacy group will certainly seek to facilitate persons who are hearing impaired just as they assist all persons with disability.
Nottage said provision for a person to communicate with sign language during important public announcements is an excellent idea and it is something that the Council in Grand Bahama and New Providence have been agitating for a number of years.
"It goes back to legislation, we feel that once there are persons with disabilities, there should be equal opportunity and when we talk about dissemination of information, if that's what it takes for them to access the information then make that available to those persons," Nottage said. "I don't think we should wait until something happens, we have to become more proactive than reactive. We here in The Bahamas seem to always take that position."
SUPPORT FOR THE DEAF — Mary Russell, a civic-minded individual who works with the deaf community of Grand Bahama, says an organization to offer support to them is very much needed and calls for the relevant authorities to have sign language communication for the deaf during national announcements. Pictured from left to right are: Derek Nottage, immediate past president of the Grand Bahama Council for the Disabled; Russell (standing) and Paula Bazzard.