Lagos Govt trains civil servants, others in sign language

Lagos State Office of Disability Affairs (LASODA) has trained select officers in the civil service in basics of sign language, to ensure a more inclusive society for hearing-impaired persons.

General Manager of LASODA, Dare Dairo, described the training as important towards achieving the THEMES+ Agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The theme of the training was ‘Bridging the Communication Gap with the Deaf for an Effective THEMES+ Agenda in Lagos State’.

Dairo said communication is fundamental to the society.

He added that the training would serve as an awakening to make people understand the importance of effective communication with persons with hearing-impairment.

He said: “It gives me hope that the essence of the service charter in Lagos State is not in vain, but that we understand our role as a service provider. It is also good that we understand that public and civil servants are here to serve the people, even to the least and most vulnerable of the society.”

“This is why this training is important if our service must be inclusive, especially if it must resonate with the THEMES+ Agenda of Mr. Governor, which encompasses youths, women and persons with disabilities.

“Many of us may have not had the opportunity to interact with persons living with disabilities. Also, other MDAs most times refer them to LASODA because they are unable to communicate with them. This is why it is important to equip ourselves with this knowledge so we can all work smart and fast. The time taken to transfer such persons to LASODA would have been spent judiciously if the attending officers are able to communicate effectively with the challenged person.

“We want to feel the presence of LASODA in all MDAs so we can have social inclusion. LASODA has a mandate in education, but no single classroom is managed by it. Persons living with disability have a right to health care, but LASODA has no single medicine shop it manages, so how do we achieve an inclusive government/society?

“All these agencies have a disability desk, and our prayer and hope is that we will  one day have sign language introduced as a cadre in the civil service. The officer would not only be a sign language person, but also the disability and inclusion officer in that agency. This would then make the work of LASODA easier.”

A participant, Cynthia Ibe, a lawyer and child advocate at the Cece Yara Foundation, lauded the government for the training initiative. She described it as timely.