>From: "Yusupha C. Jow" <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Blind Gambian Boy Needs To Get To Gallaudet University >Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 21:07:03 EDT > >For those of you who don't know, Gallaudet is one of the best in the World >for the blind and deaf. I myself met a brilliant fellow from this school at >CES in Vegas two years ago. How can we help this Gambian who has such a >great opportunity to improve himself, yet cannot attend because of funds? > > >Desperate blind boy appeals for funds to study in America > >Yankuba Amadou Faal Sonko who described himself as a desperate blind Gambian >said he hopes Samaritans would come to his rescue by paying his educational >bills to attend Gabbaudet University in USA. Yankuba who was a student of >Nusrat Senior Secondary School last year and could use a typewriter in spite >of his blindness said his condition would not deter him from the aim of >furthering his education, although he decried the lack of encouragement to >that effect. > >‘I am therefore, strongly appealing to private individuals, the private >sector, state departments and organisations for financial support to cater >for the period of my one year studies in USA’ he said, adding that in he has >been assured of full scholarship for the following year. Yankuba said as a >result of his financial problem he has been reduced to a sad boy who needs >the encouragement of others to keep his dreams alive. ‘Outside education, I >have practically nothing to prepare for my future’ he lamented. > >Yankuba said he was not born blind. According to him his blindness resulted >from playing with a friend who mistakenly poked his finger into one of his >eyes, which had bled in pain. He said as a result of this his career as a >senior secondary school student was discontinued as he sought treatment, >leading to an eye operation, which failed. His eye gradually deteriorated to >actual blindness he sadly explained. ‘In fact I went up to form three in a >High school, where I was on the verge of completing in 1993. I really admire >my friends, working in offices and other sectors, which creates feelings of >hopeless despair. > >Sometimes I get so run down emotionally that I contemplate committing suicide >especially when I see myself as a useless liability to society’ he said. >Although Yankuba believes that being visually impaired does not spell the end >of one’s life, ostracisation does not help his feeling about himself. He said >only consistent and unconditional support from others would help boost their >sense of self-worth. He cited as an instructive example, the help by >Senegalese musician Youssou Ndure of a budding musician called Abdoulaye >Mbye, who has shot to not only fame but has also been turned into a useful >member of the Senegalese society. > >He said if the blind reggae musician Franky Paul and America’s Steven Wonder >could carve a niche for themselves with the intervention of their societies, >he believes that The Gambia has enough good people to take their plight up. >‘We can do more than sighted people’ he boasted. He said he was looking >forward to the day when he would be the first blind Gambian to graduate from >a University. ‘A helping hands is all I need’ he said. Anybody interested in >bailing Yankuba out of his condition should please contact him by his own >address, Yankuba Amadou Faal Sonko C/O Mamo Dampha, Serrekunda, and Tel: >461042 > > > Copyright 2000 QuantumNET > > > > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface >at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html >To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: >[log in to unmask] > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~