Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 19 October 2000 — Page 12

The Muncie Times, October 19, 2000, page 12

Cameroon couple seeks funds for Central African deaf school

By T. S. Kumbula For Ebot N. and Susan Ogork, the challenge is personal and professional: combating deafness in tfreir native Cameroon, a Central African country with a population of 15 million, of whom at least 15,000 are deaf or hard of hearing. On the personal side, the Ogorks have a son, Ayuk, 25, who attends Gallaudet University, which caters to those with hearing problems, in Washington, D. C. They came to attend his wedding and to fund raise. Ogork is a 1971 graduate of Carlton University in Toronto, Canada, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science. He also has a certificate in public administration. His wife earned a master’s degree in social psychology and counseling in 1991 from Ball State University. The Ogorks, who have been married since 1972, have children whose ages range from 1740 31. The Ogorks were recently in Muncie, as house guests of Dr. and Mrs. Robert O. Foster, while on a nationwide fund trip for their Ephphatha Institute for the Deaf, based in Kumba, Cameroon, which was established 23 years ago. Ephphatha was the brainchild of the late Rev. Dr. Andrew J. Forster, a deaf African American who also started the Christian Mission for the Deaf in Michigan. =. Forster, who died in 1987 in a plane crash in Rwanda, Africa, founded more than 20 schools for the deaf in Central and

Cameroon natives Ebot Ogork and his wife, Susan, were recently in Muncie on a fund-raising trip to support a deaf school in their Central African country.

West Africa. Those who knew him said Forster believed that every deaf child had a right to an education. However, in 1996 Ephphatha was about to close because of financial difficulties. “When Dr. Forster died, the school in Cameroon became an orphan. We decided to pick up the running of the school,” Ogork said. To its rescue came the Cameroon Deaf Empowerment Organization (CDEO), which assumed the ownership and management of Ephphatha. Soon after that, CDEO embarked on an expansion program. Today, the boarding school, which caters to those from in the first to eighth grades (ages 5 to 18), has 85 students, 10 faculty and staff members and a 15-member board, with Ogork as president.

The board sets long-range policy, raises money and oversees the school. A director general runs the school oon a day-to-day basis. Below the director general is director of training and fund raising. “Ours is a nationwide board with representatives from all over the country because our students come from all over the country. The management board sets policy. The director general implements that policy,” Ogork said. The Ogorks said they came to the United States to try and raise money for their school. Including tuition and boarding fees, it costs about $500 per year per student. “The parents are supposed to pay. But most of them can’t afford it. The (Cameroon) government gives us very little assistance. So we have to fund raise to collect the

rest,” Ogork said. “That’s not easy. It’s a very serious problem, because we have to raise the money to run the school, pay salaries and feed the children. We need money to build more dormitories. We use some of the classrooms we have as dormitories.” Added Mrs. Ogork, “Another of our concerns is what happens to the children after 8th grade. That’s a problem for us because there is no secondary in the whole country for the deaf at that level. “That’s one of the things that we’re trying to correct. We want to start a comprehensive secondary school program for the deaf, with vocational and grammar (components.) We want the children to learn vocational skills such as sewing and carpentry. “What we intend to do is to make sure is that children who can’t go to high school, by the time they get out of elementary school then we should be in a position to help them get loans so they can start up small businesses. This would be a revolving loan they would have to pay back so that others can benefit from it. We want to produce self-reliant individuals.” The Ogorks arrived in the United States early in August. They were scheduled to return home at the end of September. They have been meeting people around the country in an effort to raise about $30,000 in operating funds, which they need to pay salaries, feed the students and erect new dorms and classrooms. V‘We have met many

people. Some have been very understanding when we talked to them about what we’re trying to do. Others made spontaneous donations. Others have promised to help,” Ogork said. “We hope people of goodwill will come to our aid, including churches, foundations and other organizations. “We have had some help from the Cameroon government, not much, from the U. S. embassy in Yaounde (the Cameroon capital), the European Union and other groups. We need help.” The main focus of the Ogorks’ visit was to raise money for a capital building program. Their proposed budget includes: • About $48,000 for an agro-pastoral vocational center, where students would learn skills required for learning about agriculture, including the care of animals. • Acquiring a carpentry section, including equipment, at a cost of $48,000. •Building new dorms for boys and girls. • About $13,000 for a sign language and interpretation center. This would include staff and teacher salaries. Other goals include: • Raising enough money to run the -existing school. • Raising money for income-generating projects designed to make the school more financially independent. • Initiate more vocational projects. • Get a dorm-building project under way.

Ogork SEE PAGE 13