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Religious institutions urged to engage sign language interpreters
Ms Nukunu Akushika Deku, an Advocate for Persons who are Deaf
An advocate for the deaf, Ms. Nukunu Akushika Deku, has asked religious institutions to engage the services of sign language interpreters to make their meetings friendly for the hearing-impaired in society.
In an interview with The Specta¬tor on Tuesday, Ms. Deku, pointed out that the deaf have not been fairly treated in this regard and said it was about time every religious institution saw the need for inter¬preters to facilitate communication between the hearing community and the deaf.
The absence of the sign language interpret¬ers in the churches, mosques and religious institutions has for decades, restricted the deaf from joining their events, a situation Ms Deku found as discrimi¬natory.
“Clearly, this de¬feats the purpose for the establishment of these institutions whose messages are supposed to be propagated to all manner of persons, re¬gardless of their physical challenges,” she said.
The deaf, she said, “just like other physically chal¬lenged persons, suffer various forms of discrimination and injustice and to think that the church or the mosque and others which should be places for them to find solace have not addressed these concerns; it leaves much to be desired.”
She recalled as a child how she followed her grandmother to church and there was no sign language interpretation, making her uncom¬fortable because she could not hear to benefit in any way.
Ms. Deku said her grandmother explained that she did not want her to go to churches with interpreters for the deaf because she hoped to hear with time.
She said her ability to follow church proceedings was a huge relief to her and so she could appreciate the inconvenience religious institu¬tions which do not have sign lan¬guage interpreters were taking their members through.
She said if the churches and mosques assisted deaf persons to un¬derstand their sermon and activities, it would encourage more of them to patronise their activities and begin to enjoy that sense of belonging.
Ms. Deku said the current state of affairs made deaf persons feel excluded because every activity obviously was not planned with them in mind.
She questioned how they were supposed to understand readings, teachings, songs and announcements if there were no sign language inter¬pretation.
She said it was about time reli¬gious institutions prioritised the deaf like all other persons by train¬ing sign language interpreters to bridge the gap between the hearing and non-hearing.
She said when the deaf were offered the platform, they would be efficient to enhance growth wherev¬er they find themselves.
She bemoaned the development where decisions or major policies about them can be taken without consulting them and appealed to religious institutions to take the initiative to embrace the deaf com¬munity.
From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Adjei Kojo
News
113 Cardinals hold 3rd General Congregation in Rome
The 113 Cardinals present in Rome held the third General Congregation on Thursday morning, and announced who will deliver the two pre-conclave meditations.
The Cardinals decided that Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández will celebrate the Mass on the sixth day of the Novemdiales, instead of Cardinal Kevin Farrell.
They agreed that Fr. Donato Ogliari, O.S.B., Abbot of St. Paul Outside the Walls, will deliver the first meditation on Monday, and that Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher Emeritus of the Papal Household, will deliver the second meditation at the beginning of the conclave, whose starting date has not yet been decided.
The Cardinals began a conversation about the Church and the world, deciding to hold the next General Congregation on Friday morning at 9:00 AM.
The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, told journalists that 61,000 people have paid their respects to the late Pope Francis as of 1:00 PM on Thursday, adding that St. Peter’s Basilica should close at midnight on Thursday, unless large crowds are still queuing to enter.
Following the Pope’s funeral on Saturday, April 26, a Rosary will be held in front of the Basilica of St. Mary Major on Saturday at 9:00 PM.
Mr. Bruni said the burial service for Pope Francis will take place in private.
Starting the morning of Sunday, April 27, the faithful may begin to visit the tomb of Pope Francis at the Marian Basilica.
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
