She wanted to be a Nurse and later a Medical Doctor in the future but her dream cut short due to an accident in Wa in the Upper West Region of Ghana which led to her deaf and dumbness.
However, with a determination, Genevieve Basingha managed to complete Junior High School in 1994, and later attended the Mampong School for the Deaf in the Eastern Region, the only Senior High School in Ghana for the deaf and dumb.
After completion, Madam Basingha went back to her hometown Wa and started apprenticeship to become a seamstress. Luckily, she fell in love and got married to her current husband in 1997.
The couple, according to narrations migrated from Wa to Obuasi popularly known as “Gold City” in the Ashanti Region of Ghana due to the husbands work. Madam Basingha could not therefore complete her apprenticeship.
At Obuasi, she did not to give up on the many abandoned deaf and dumb children everywhere in the city. Madam Basingha therefore renewed her passion to set up one of the few Schools for the deaf and dumb in the country in the year 2014, and vowed to help all children afflicted with vestibular disorders.
Impacts
She established the Research Utilization School for the Deaf (RUSFORD) in Obuasi with few deaf and dumb pupils. Within three years, Madam Basingha has single-handily provided access to basic education for over 200 deaf and dumb children who never thought that they would ever have access to education.
She does not treat these deaf and dumb children as just pupils, Madam Basingha has made them her family.
With the help of her deaf but abled and supportive husband, Madam Basingha provides home, food, security and clothes for the pupils and staff of the school through all the hard times even when the parents of these deaf and dumb children, the community members and the government have turned deaf ears and blind eyes on their pleas.
Madam Basingha is also one of the two teachers who teach over 60 pupils from Nursery to primary School.
Today, Madam Basingha is competing with nine abled individuals for the ultimate MTN Heroes of Change award. The ultimate winner will receive GH¢100,000 to support his/her community project. Three selected winners for the various categories will receive GH¢20,000 each, while the remaining six finalists will also take home GH¢5,000 each.
Her RUSFORD project was featured prominently on the ninth episode of the ongoing season III of the MTN Heroes of Change which is MTN Ghana Foundation flagship project.
It was initiated in July 2013 to recognise and reward persons who have provided significant humanitarian services to their communities through personal sacrifices.
The MTN Ghana Foundation is the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of MTN Ghana, the leading telecoms service provider in the country.
Despite being deaf and dumb, Madam Basingha was nominated by the people of the Obuasi municipality to participate in this year’s MTN Heroes of Change which is currently aired on GTV every Saturday at 5:30pm;Multi TV on Sundays at 5:00pm;TV3 on Sundays at 6:30pm; and GhOne on Sundays at 7:00pm .
The purpose of the TV shows is to highlight the humanitarian activities of Madam Basingha and the nine other contestants for the ultimate cash prize of GH¢100,000.
.In a sign language, she said: “My aim is to educate the deaf and dumb children to become useful in the society”. Madam Basingha wants to do more but her efforts are being hampered by resource constraints.
She therefore needs more resources to enable her see her vision through. So, Madam Basingha needs your votes to enable him win the ultimate prize. You can do so by texting his short code name (Genevieve) to 1406.
She is among the few hearing impairment population proving that disability is not inability.
The 2010 Housing and population census has indicated that the population of persons with hearing and speech disability in Ghana is 211,712 out of a total national population of 24,658,823. This means that approximately 1% of the Ghanaian population has hearing loss and this creates a huge communication barrier.
Madam Basingha is therefore a change maker and a heroine of our time. She has shown that disability is more than ability and you don’t need to be fully normal or not disabled to make a long lasting impact in your community and the country.
By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, African Eye Report
