Diary of a special student in Buea
By Nchendzengang Tatah
It will take 20 minutes by car from his house at Mile 16, Buea for Agoum Simon to get by the gate of the Bilingual Grammar School Molyko(BGS), his college. The visually impaired student, 34, is enrolled in the French section of the historic institution. He is of the “troisième espanol” (fourth year) class and will be sitting in for the BEPC examination in 2025.
Life for him is marked by a myriad of challenges and merits, peculiar and independent of his physical state. Born into an average family, Agoum Simon only got into school later in life. He recalls that many thought a visually impaired child could only eat, sleep, grow older and wait for the day of death.
Life in school is filled with several difficulties, one of which is to deal with teachers who think he, Simon, should rather not be there. “I have not gone to teacher training to learn how to teach you(visually impaired). So, somehow the government should look for a separate space for you,” Simon recollects of some teachers saying.
The school principal seems to be one of Simon’s “friends”. On this day, he was called by the pet name, “Simo” when she spotted him. Principal Cecilia then walked towards him to embrace in front of the administrative block independent of our presence. That he said is the feeling he gets from the majority of the staff. Moreso, they send him soft copy notes on his phone such that he can easily access and read. He uses braille to write the examination, and highlighted that this far, the unit in charge at his school was performing satisfactorily.
“Some mates work with me, they do everything with me. They make sure to dictate for me to copy notes I don’t have. I often hear them say, ‘you are a human being, and we even realize that you are more intelligent than we are because of the way you answer questions and do things. Such that, even though we have eyes, we cannot do as much'”, the grade 4 student noted of his peers. Nevertheless, he battles with the actions of peers who do not accept him for his state.
Simon is on the road daily and has several experiences with cab drivers who would rather drive past him even if going to his destination. While others will bluntly deny having him on board, owing to his inability to see. The negative verbal reactions are those which scar Simon most. Notwithstanding, the good deeds of others who even give him free rides when he is coinless make him feel accepted.
“While the school does everything to make sure that we feel good, there are other things I need. For example, a recorder and computer to facilitate my learning. Adding to these is transport fare, which I often don’t have”, Simon stated.
Every visually impaired child deserves education, and Agoum Simon is calling on everyone to empower them such that they can contribute their quarter to nation building. The efforts of the teacher to his development and growth are most honored by Simon. One which inspires him to become a teacher and psychologist to impact others like him from the world of his experience.
