One of the participants at the conference was visually-impaired Hope Okeke, 29, who told a touching story of her friendship with speech-impaired Benice Adekeye to Joke Kujenya.
Oke every young and ambitious ladies, Hope Okeke, 29, from Nanka in Anambra State and Benice Adekeye, 26, from Kwara State, set out from their respective homes to go seek educational development, hone their skills and follow their career ambitions.
Fate however brought both ladies, one Ibo and the other, Yoruba, together one day in 2004. To them, their meeting could have been like any other that began and ended the same day, but destiny had another plan for them.
After completing her secondary school education at the Queens College, Yaba, Lagos where she distinguished herself by emerging the ‘Most Promising Visually Challenged Student in 2004’, Hope passed out in 2006, with five distinctions and two credits. Thereafter, she proceeded to the University of Ibadan in 2007, purportedly to study Guidance and Counselling.
From another end of Nigeria also came Benice, who wanted to study Special Education Chemistry at the same institution.
However, when the university became aware of their special situations, both ladies were told that given their respective challenge, they would be offered different courses from their initial choices.
Hope was thus offered Special Education & Religious Studies, whereas Benice was offered Chemistry & Education. But Benice was determined not to be taken away from her initial area of interest; so, she began to combine both courses, for which she worked extra hard.
Weeks after resumption, they both reconnected during a faculty course and had the opportunity to know more about each other and catch up on their experiences so far. Hope narrated how someone had told her that Benice cannot hear very well. Benice also got to know that Hope could not see. Hope recalled that.
Aside being in the same department, they also discovered that they shared hostel, though different rooms. Thereafter, they both developed a bond.
Hope said: “Interestingly, it is not that Benice cannot hear at all. She only cannot hear very well or as fast as regular people. And because of her challenge of impaired hearing, she did not understand sign language because prior to that, she had not attended any special school.
“However, I am visually impaired and also didn’t know sign language. So, communication became a problem between us. But life continued.”
According to Hope, Benice was bent on studying Bio-chemistry; she then decided to combine it with the course the university selected for her. She asked her mother to buy her a tape recorder, with which she recorded lectures and later asked some of her helpful colleagues to transcribe for her.
That naturally put on Benice a harder burden and sleepless nights, but Hope added: “She took the hard stance because her interpreter had told her that he could not help her because she did not know how to sign papers; and that it would be hard for her to sign chemical equations. That was how she began to buy her course materials and during the exams, she would stay up through the nights and study.”
All that while, Hope recalled that Benice could speak to her a little, while she could write, but their communication was anything but smooth.
“I therefore asked Benice to teach me sign language, so we could both be communicating with ease.” Hope said.
She recalled that Benice could talk a little, so she (Hope) would hear and sign her response to her.
She said Benice’s speech was only impaired and only become noticeable due to the breaks in-between, whenever she makes long speeches.
Hope however said that was not much of a problem for her, as she had been in inclusive education right from her high school at Queens College. “With that, we were able to help each other a lot and people soon began to take us for twins. We had to explain over and over that we are not twins, that Benice is Yoruba, while I am Ibo; and that we are not blood relations.”
Said Hope, “Our bonding eventually contributed to both of our successes in 2011, such that Benice graduated with a First Class degree in her combined courses, while I finished in the Second Class Upper category.”
“Currently, Benice works as a Chemistry teacher at the Federal College of Science & Technology, Akoka, Lagos, while I work as a Resource Person at the prestigious Kings’ College, , Lagos.”
Significantly, Hope concluded that they both saw “their challenges as stepping stones and eye-openers to potential discoveries. And it has given us opportunities to make impact in the world because they are self-esteem boosters. Till date, Benice and I remain extremely bonded against any form of adversity and that bond can never be broken.”