Annalena Tonelli School Of The Deaf And ‎The Blind Faces Bleak Future‎

Borama, Somaliland, June 01, 2006 -- The Annalena Tonelli School of the Deaf and the Blind faces uncertain future after an Italian organization decided to stop its financial support to the school. No explanation was given for Comitata's decision to suspend its assistance.

The announcement was made on Tuesday 30 May 2006 during a ceremony held to mark the end of the school's academic year 2005/2006 during which prizes were given to students who excelled in their exams. Attending the ceremony were government officials, elders and other community personalities.

The management of the school explained that the school would face great financial difficulties and might be on the verge of closure if an alternative source of help was not found. Among the students in the school are 174 deaf, half of them girls, six blind students and 125 poor and handicapped children. The students are in various levels, from grade one to grade eight. They came from all regions of Somaliland as well as Djibouti. The school also gives training to teachers from Djibouti and the Somali region of Ethiopia.

Dahir Mahmoud Haddi, the Regional Education Officer, said that the school obtained no assistance from the community of Borama since the death of the noble mother Annelena Tonelli.

"These students now understand what we say. You can see how their teacher is translating to them what we say in their own sign language," he said, underlining that his department would not spare any effort to find an assistance for the school.

For his turn, Dr. Abdirahman Jama, regional health officer, said that he remembered the day that Annalena was killed. "I came to the school and some of the deaf students had written on the blackboard 'Annalena is killed; who will help us!'. We replied to them in writing 'the Almighty'." He said that the school was going through a similar situation and called for the formation of a committee to study the issue and find a solution for the school's support.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Sh. Abdillahi, Awdal Governor, announced that his office would donate Sl.Sh.1 million every month and he supported the formation of a committee, while Abdirahman Sh. Omar Ibrahim, Borama Mayor, pledged Sl. Sh. 2 million for the school. He said that 40 students of the school were invited to Hargeysa in June and that he would discuss the school's issue with the mayor of Hargeysa.

The attendees later inspected a display of items made by the students including clothes, women's hand bags, chairs and other items.

Top students were given prizes. Hoodo Abdi Mohammed, a blind girl student who hails from Berbera, topped the blind class, while Hamza Abdirahman Fahiye came second. Prizes were also given to the first three of every class.

The school is one of the several institutions established by the late Mother Annalena Tonelli, who was gunned down in October 2003 in the compound of the TB hospital she found in Borama. after devoting 33 years of her prime life for the assistance of the Somali people.

Source: Awdalnews Network

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