Durban — The Nelson Mandela Youth Centre in Chatsworth signed online the World Federation of the Deaf Declaration, in support of the Rights of Deaf Children around the world.
September is International Deaf Awareness Month.
In an effort to raise awareness of deaf inclusivity, the centre hosted teachers, pupils and community members on Sunday.
The organiser, Mary Soobramoney, who is also a youth centre volunteer and a school teacher, said language is a tool used to help people communicate effectively and that the purpose of the event was to advocate for such inclusion.
The programme also included artistic contributions and accomplishments of deaf individuals.
Adhil Ramnath, a deaf international fashion designer who showcased his outfits, and Zohra Moosa, a South African Sign Language (SASL) Educator and deaf poet recited her published poems. Participants got to experience deaf culture through interactive activities.
Participants learnt and practised sign language with the assistance of 9-year-old Shanne Palien who is hard of hearing.
She was diagnosed as deaf at two and a half years old and went for cochlear implants at the age of three.
She received bilateral cochlear implants in May 2018 from Dr Kurt Schlemmer at Hillcrest Private Hospital. She was a child who had no access to sound and had profound hearing loss.
She uses cochlear implants that assist her to hear, speak and communicate. She has spent 6 years at Livingstone Primary School where she received intensive speech therapy. She was ready for the mainstream and now attends Seven Hills Primary.
Shanne said she lives by the motto that “no” is not a word in her vocabulary and she tries to do everything.
Marla Naidoo, who has been teaching for 30 years and teaching at Seven Hills for three years, said Shanne is the warmest, most kind-hearted child she has ever encountered in her career.
As her class teacher, it is a pleasure to work with Shanne, she said.
“She recently participated in the uMlazi District mental math competition where she was placed in the top 5. As her teacher, I afford her the same opportunities as the other learners in the mainstream class. She puts her mind to every task assigned to her and sees it through successfully.
“I am always up for a new challenge. Inclusive education being one of them. However having a learner like Shanne has been most rewarding as I have learnt how to sign, and speak softly. Shanne is unable to handle any loud sounds due to her implants. The learners and I have learnt to do things with minimal noise,” she said.
Soobramoney said that the deaf and hard of hearing community have waited for years for South Africa to recognise Sign Language which forms part of their culture and identity as an official language, she said.
“South Africa annually springs into this cultural month in commemoration of the first congress of the World Federation of the Deaf which took place in September 1951. The theme for 2024 is to promote multilingual education that provides deaf learners inclusion through SASL,” she said.
The facilitators of the event showed the crowd short movie clip screenings without captions/subtitles and also played sign language games.
“These experiences drew the hearing, deaf/hard of hearing, young and old together; in appreciation of our common challenges and aspirations,” she said.
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Daily News