The Gambia Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (GADHOH), Brikama Branch, last Saturday, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at a ceremony held at the Brikama Youth Centre, Western Region.

Its main headquarters are in Kanifing. Brikama Branch is the first and the biggest  among the regional branches in the country since the organisation's inception, decades ago.

Speaking at the ceremony, Lamin Ceesay, executive officer of GADHOH, said since the association's inception, they have been actively involved in teaching sign languages, and other income generating ventures to help their members.

According to him, they have a nursery school in which they teach deaf children who after some time are transferred to St. John's School for the Deaf in Kanifing.

Karamo Sanyang, chairman, Brikama Branch, said the association over the past years, has embarked on a  wide range of activities.

"During the past years, we were able to get a nursery school and have also recruited teachers to teach sign languages and English," he said.

He maintained that they visited six schools in Western Region, all geared towards empowering deaf people.

"We were able to get our own website and train interpreters with the general public," he added.

He called for support from government, local NGO's and other philantropists.

For her part, Isatou Sanyang, director of the Female Wing, called on members to work hard to realise their objectives.

According to her, there are a lot of areas deaf people can participate in to make gainful living, especially jobs such as plumbing, welding, masonry  and others. This, she noted, will enable them to get self employment rather than being dependent on their families.

She further asserted that they will continue to contribute immensely to the socio-economic development of the nation.

"We should always fight for our rights. I want to call on government and local NGO's to allocate air-time on TV or radios dedicated to the deaf and hard of hearing people so that they would know what is happening in the world," she urged.

Other speakers at the ceremony included Abdoukadir Drammeh, a committee member, Abdoulie Njie, National President Alvean Jones, and a VSO volunteer among others. The ceremony was attended by members of the association and local dignitaries.