Lions Clubs unite to buy Speech Generating Computer

Aoife is a very brave little girl who is a pupil in St. Michael’s House Special National School, Baldoyle. She has Cerebral Palsy and cannot speak. She is clever and bright, always cheerful and is the life and soul of the class. She has no way of communicating and must rely on adults to guess what her needs are. She understands everything said to her and would have plenty to say for herself given the means.

That means will soon be provided by MyTobii Speech Generating Device. This is essentially a computer operated by the user’s eyes instead of a mouse or keyboard.

Recently, three local Lions Clubs (Malahide, Howth/Sutton and Portmarnock) collaborated to organise a concert in the Grand Hotel, Malahide to raise nearly €25,000 for the device. The entertainment was provided by “The Graffiti Classics” who performed classical and traditional music using brilliant arrangements and mischievous humour. TV and radio personality, Marty Whelan did a sterling job  as MC for the evening.

It was a sell-out show with an auction and a raffle. But the most wonderful thing though was the massive support for the project by members of the entire community. They made generous personal donations, organised a cake sale, had a whip-around, organised a sponsored walk and ran a bridge evening. Aoife had captured the imagination of all who learned about her and the possibility of giving her a voice.

So now, to the delight of her mother Nicola, and her sisters, she will get that voice, thanks to advanced technology combined with generosity of people.

About Graffiti Classics

A visit to their website The Graffiti Classics will give a good idea of how they look and sound.

They were accepted onto the Yehudi Menuhin's 'Live Music Now!' scheme in 1998 enabling them to tour extensively and gain valuable experience working with children, and people with special needs. As well as their Cabaret-style performances, Graffiti Classics are known extensively throughout Ireland and Britain for their educational workshops, having performed to over 200,000 children in the last six years.