Empowering the deaf through enabling mentorship
Wits University trains Deaf adults to be Deaf Mentors in a one of-a-kind programme.
Life for the parent of a deaf or hard of hearing child can be lonely and overwhelming when their infant is first diagnosed with hearing loss. Parents have many decisions to make regarding their infant’s hearing loss, often with little or no information or support.
The Centre for Deaf Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand initiated the HI HOPES Early Intervention Programme, a first-of-its-kind programme in South Africa to support families of deaf or hard of hearing children. The Early Intervention Programme introduces these families, in their homes, to strong Deaf Mentors.
To train these Deaf adults as mentors, the Education, Training and Development Practices (ETDP) SETA provided funding for 50 Deaf adults to attend the HI HOPES Deaf Mentor training programme. “The in-depth practical and theoretical training on how to work with families of deaf and hard of hearing children has equipped these Deaf adults with the skills they need to become more employable within the field of Early Childhood Development,” says Professor Claudine Storbeck, Director of the Centre for Deaf Studies and HI HOPES at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Reokopile Ramphomane, a trained Deaf Mentor, was born deaf and diagnosed with a hearing loss when she was about three years old. She completed matric at the St. Vincent School for the Deaf. She now works at the School as a teaching assistant, while studying Early Childhood Development.
“I was overwhelmed by the HI HOPES training. I have learnt so much. It built my confidence and I really enjoyed the training. HI HOPES changed my life and I am now able to share with families the empowerment that I have acquired. I can do anything except hear,” she says.
Ramphomane was introduced to a family in Orlando East, close to where she stays. The family contacted HI HOPES and asked to meet a Deaf mentor as they wanted to learn Sign Language. Ramphomane is now helping the family to learn South African Sign Language.
“The objective of this SETA programme is to assist disabled people and to offer them opportunities they did not have access to in the past. This is the reason why the ETDP SETA has partnered with the Wits Centre for Deaf Studies –to advance the cause of this particular community and to provide specialised training for them,” says Gerrard Francis, SETA’s Gauteng Provincial Manager
The key roles of the Deaf Mentors are to serve as language and cultural role models for families of deaf and hard of hearing children. Deaf Mentors enable and support the holistic development of these children by empowering families to interact, bond and communicate. Deaf Mentors also share with families their experiences of growing up with a hearing loss in South Africa. to his lecturers.
Having grown up in the oral and hearing world, Ramolotja did not know Sign Language. An encounter with a Deaf friend spurred him into action and he learnt some basics of South African Sign Language from a dictionary. Ramolotja now works at a school for the Deaf.
Ramolotja says that HI HOPES has helped him to understand that deaf infants can learn Sign Language the same way hearing babies learn spoken language.
“I thought that Sign Language can only be learnt at a school for the Deaf, but now I know that infants can learn sign language like they learn spoken languages. The HI HOPES Early Intervention Programme is a really good programme that benefits the child and the family and it has also given me an opportunity to support the families and children, which is very fulfilling,” says Ramolotja.
The HI HOPES Early Intervention Programme, which in 2016 celebrated 10 years of service and dedication to deaf and hard of hearing babies, will continue to provide in-service training for Deaf Mentors annually.
This year, the Wits Centre for Deaf Studies is again offering new courses in collaboration with the ETDP SETA. The courses include Training for Teachers of the Deaf in Mathematics and Literacy Development, as well as a Deaf Education module in the Postgraduate Diploma in Education.
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