National and Regional Youth Leaders in Ghana

Image description: [Four adults stand in a row in front of a wall. They take turns signing to the camera throughout the video. At times, they pause to watch someone off camera signing questions to them.]

Introductions: National and Regional Youth Leaders

Transcript: [First woman at far left] “Hi, my name is Linda Gibbah, Vice President of Ghana National Association of the Deaf Youth Section.” (GNAD-YS).

[Man standing next to Linda] “I am Cosmos Wuanka, Secretary of GNAD-YS. I came here to support the Central Region Deaf Youth Association.”

[Woman standing next to Cosmos] “I am Christiana Mensah, I have become the Vice President of Central Regional Deaf Youth Association.”

[Man at far right, next to Christiana] “I am Joseph Amissah, I come from [city], I came for the election to become president of Central Region Deaf Youth Association.”

First Regional Election

Linda: “Yes, this is our first time to come here the election of new board members Christiana and Joseph.”

Cosmos: “They asked us to come, we were enthused to support them and collaborate with them in choosing their own leaders.”

Joseph: “Before, we had no youth organization here. We went to a training workshop on leadership with GNAD-YS. After we improved leadership skills we asked GNAD-YS president to come here to help train us, deaf people here wanted to see. [Pause] Why? Because they have experience, they know more. When we started we didn’t know. The GNAD-YS vice president and secretary, they teach us Central region deaf youth to improve and do it and have an election to become president. We can do it! They encouraged Central Region Deaf Youth Association.

Christiana: “At that time we had no youth president. I asked the national Vice President Linda to help teach us. She helped us with this election, I thank her for showing us we can do it!” [Pause] “I had to roll up my sleeves and work, I could not be passive in this! I had to commit to hard work for youth!”

GNAD-YS Working with Central Region Organization

Linda: [Addressing Christiana and Joseph] “So if it happens that you confront a problem you can send me an email and I can talk with you about what to do or how to find another way to help you do what you want. But also we want you to see your future how better you can help yourselves develop solutions. When people look toward us, we want to do something for them.”

Cosmos: “To add to what she [Linda] says, we are eager to train them to know where to go if there is a problem, who to talk to, who to meet, who to advocate with. We will need young people to be strong so in the future they can do things themselves, they can manage. If they don’t know where to go advocate, they won’t win their rights or end discrimination. We want to train them and encourage them, so when we leave they will do things.”

[Christiana nods in agreement]

Future Relations Between National and Regional Youth Leaders

Joseph: “One thing I want to add is, right now, with advocacy, we don’t know how to go deeply into that. I want to know—with the election finished, we can’t be passive, it’s not done! No! We need to ask [Linda and Cosmos] again to help us learn how to advocate and keep on learning and learning and learning. Then we do the work to advocate and meet with success. Whereas if we make too many mistakes, it could create problems. We’re not finished! The national youth president has more experience more deeply how to write and submit proposals, how to advocate. I want to do that!”

Christiana: “I want to add to that. Regional youth, we have no experience. National youth, they have experience. We can watch them and learn from their training and encouragement. We can develop, we can do it!

[All four say “Thank you” and wave goodbye to the camera.]