Correspondence from Western Region

Breaking barriers is no small feat, and Lydia Abayie Acquah, a deaf student, has done just that. Lydia defied the odds and graduated with a Master’s degree from the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa in the Western Region of Ghana.

Her accomplishment is not only a testament to her hard work and determination but also an inspiration to others facing similar challenges.

Lydia was born hearing but became deaf when she was ten years old, so, she learned how to speak before becoming deaf. Due to this, she is able to speak to some extent, but cannot hear.

But with all the challenges that come with deafness, she never relented on pursuing her dreams in life.

She worked hard and overcame every obstacle in her path from Primary, secondary and tertiary and finally graduated with a Cumulative Weighted Average (CWA) of 76.80% from the Master of Business Technology Management (MBTM) Programme during the just-ended 14th Congregation of the University of Mines and Technology in Tarkwa, where she focused on Management Information Systems (MIS).

According to Lydia, after becoming deaf, people began stigmatizing her in her community, and she could not sell for her mother as she used to do. As a singer in church, she could not sing again.

“People look down on you. They don’t welcome you, as if you have done something bad by becoming deaf. Everywhere you go you see that, so you begin to pull away from them. I was selling with my mother before becoming deaf, sometimes I go to sell alone. But after becoming deaf when I went out to sell and people call me and I don’t hear, they ask; have you sold your ears too?” she recounted some of the challenges she faced.

Lydia said “as a singer, I had a nice voice but when I became deaf, I stopped singing because my voice turned into different sounds so I stopped singing. It was like a shame to me around ten years and up.”

Her primary and secondary education

Despite facing numerous obstacles, Lydia refused to let her deafness hold her back from achieving her academic goals.

After becoming deaf, Lydia pretended she could hear but she could not. Teachers would send her but Lydia would neither come back with the item nor the money.

“My teachers would send me to go and buy something, I would not hear thinking that I should take the money so I would go and spend the money, then I would come back to the class after a long time and in the middle of the teaching, my teacher would ask, where is my groundnut, then I would go out and go and talk to somebody and find money and bring it back and tell the teacher when I went it was finished but I left the money somewhere and I have forgotten so I am bringing it back. It happened to me many times, I always made-up stories. So, after some time the teachers noticed that I had a hearing problem, but I passed through, learning small small,” she said while smiling.

But in all these, she was brilliant so she was able to pass her BECE. “Thankfully God gave me good brain to pass my exams from primary to the Junior High level at the time. I was one of the best students.”

She gained admission at the Tarkwa Senior High School (Tarsco) where she studied Business.

One of her challenges was writing notes anytime the teachers decided to dictate, because she could not hear anything but could only guess what the teacher is saying by watching the lips. But one of her classmates, Patience Sarko, came to her aid by deciding to write the notes for her anytime teachers decided to dictate.

Lydia described Patience as “one sweet good person. I think God just put her there for me. She would write her own notes and write mine for me at the same time the teacher is dictating. That is how I did it to the end. I was sitting in front every time to read the teachers’ lips. If the teacher turns, then I’m lost, but I was successful. I was among the best students at that time.”

Tertiary Education: University of Ghana

After completing Tarkwa Senior Secondary School, she enrolled at the Akuapim Mampong Secondary Technical School for the Deaf, where she learnt sign language before entering the University of Ghana to study Business Administration (Human Resource option).

As the only deaf student in the lecture hall with an interpreter in front of the whole class, she felt uncomfortable because all eyes were on her.

But this according to Lydia was an “immature feeling, I did not want to see people look at me.”

Due to this, she stopped going to lectures and her interpreter also decided to stop. This, she said, affected her performance badly as she began failing.
At a point in time, the university almost revoked her admission but it took the intervention of one lecturer Dr. Kwabena Adu Poku who had much experience with the deaf, to save her from such fate.

She encouraged other deaf people not to feel shy if they experience the same thing, because it is a glorious thing not to hear among many people.

“The experience within, only you know what is inside. To be able to understand a sign language interpreting is a marvelous thing any deaf should be proud of,” she said.

Tertiary Education: University of Mines and Technology (UMaT)

Thirteen years after completing her first degree, Lydia decided to go for a master’s degree at the University of Mines and Technology.

Because of the challenges she went through due to her disability, Lydia worked closely with the University’s management, lecturers, and coursemates to be able to appreciate some complex course concepts and she persevered. The University ensured that she had the necessary assistance, such as Sign Language Interpreters to enable her fully participate in lectures and other academic activities.

Finally, the day of graduation arrived. Lydia walked across the stage to receive her Master’s degree, and she felt a sense of accomplishment that she had never felt before.

She looked out into the crowd and saw her family and friends cheering for her, and she knew that all of her hard work had been worth it.

The Head of the Department for Management Studies, UMaT, Dr. Kofi Kamasa said, Lydia was admitted without knowing she was deaf. But upon knowing that after her admission, the university put in the necessary support for her go through the programme successfully. He described Lydia’s admission to the University as a blessing in disguise.

Lydia’s sign language interpreter, Richmond Baidoo, in an interview, said he accepted to be Lydia’s personal interpreter because of the passion he has for deaf people and to make sure that Lydia’s vision of obtaining a master’s degree was achieved.

He explained that “I was dependent on the lecturer. Whatever he delivers is what I give to Lydia, but the pace with which the lecturer would go with the hearing students, I have to grasp the concept. I even have to pause the lecturer at a point in time to explain it further for me to get a clear picture of it for me to be able to explain to her before we move on.

“There are times I had to go to her house to make sure that certain notes taken were in accordance with whatever went on in class,” he said.

Lydia described her interpreter as an advocate and self-sacrificing. She expressed her appreciation to him for sacrificing his time to make sure she advanced in her education. She said if many interpreters have that same attitude of fighting for the deaf, helping create awareness of deaf issues, a lot of deaf people will have big opportunities.

She stated that “there are some interpreters when they face the least challenge, they will leave you, but this one (Richmond Baidoo), he endured with me, if there is a misunderstanding, we will fight, he will still come. Some of the lectures are late in the evening, but he will sacrifice and come.”

“If you give him small money he will accept. That is not to say that interpreters need small money. They need to be paid well because to stand and interpret is not a small work. It needs your all,” she added.

Lydia’s love life

Lydia is happily married to Samuel Asamoah and they are blessed with five children.

According to Mr. Asamoah, he got attracted to his wife because of her boldness at the University of Ghana. He overlooked her disability and decided to marry her. Mr. Asamoah has learned sign language through Lydia and that is the means through which they communicate. He is ready to support his wife in diverse ways to get her Ph.D.

Introduction of sign language

Lydia Abayie Acquah wants the government to make sign language a general subject for all school children to allow everyone to know sign language from infancy. Lydia said “Sign language is the way deaf people learn. It’s like any other language and how sign language conveys information to deaf people is powerful than hearing.”

She noted that “if the Ministry of Education makes sign language for all children, it will be good, because, at a point in time, old people may become deaf so by the time you arrive at being deaf (we are not praying for people to become deaf, but it is a possibility) you already know the sign language and communication becomes easy.”

Scholarship to pursue masters in Linguistic

With the aim of becoming a linguist, Lydia has gained admission at the Gallaudet University, a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing to pursue a Master in linguistics so she can get the training to support language development of the deaf in Ghana.

She is therefore soliciting for the support of organizations and individuals to help her pursue her dream because the university doesn’t have a full scholarship for international students.

Lydia's success is a reminder of the importance of inclusivity in education. It is essential to create an environment where all students, regardless of their disabilities, feel supported and empowered to succeed.

By breaking barriers and achieving her goals, Lydia has opened doors for other deaf students and shown that anything is possible with hard work and determination.

Her story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and serves as an inspiration to everyone.

Watch Lydia's full interview below: