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22 September 2021
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Story Michelle Nöthling
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Photo Supplied
Annemarie Le Roux.
“I love working with children.” This is one of the first things Annemarie le Roux mentions when asked to describe herself. This love for children propelled Annemarie into the field of education and she graduated in 2006 with a BEd in Foundation Phase at the UFS. Annemarie immediately immersed herself in the Deaf community, enriching the lives of children at the Thiboloha School for the Deaf in Qwaqwa and the De la Bat School for the Deaf in Worcester.
The academic world enticed Annemarie back to the University of the Free State (UFS) and she was appointed as a junior lecturer in the Department of South African Sign Language (SASL) and Deaf Studies in 2013. Going from strength to strength, Annemarie completed her master’s degree in SASL in 2019, and published an
article earlier this year that she co-wrote with Marga Stander. In this article, they found that SASL “has become an increasingly popular language that hearing university students want to learn as a second language” and subsequently explored different teaching methods used for this emerging group of interested students.
Although now firmly established in academia, Annemarie is still committed to the practical application of SASL. “I am closely involved in student and community engagement through the
SIGNALS Sign Language student association that helps empower the Deaf community and South African Sign Language.” She also interprets for the Deaf community whenever she gets an opportunity, as well as for Deaf students in class and meetings.
On the importance of Sign Language and the recognition of the Deaf community in South Africa, Annemarie believes it will open greater opportunities for development. “More people will be able to learn SASL, and it might even become a subject in school for hearing children.”
‘Gaza doctor’ Izzeldin Abuelaish visits UFS
2011-10-03

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Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish |
Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish, the Palestinian doctor who became the centre of a media firestorm in January 2009 when three of his daughters were killed and members of his family injured in an attack on Gaza, will be visiting our Bloemfontein Campus in October 2011. Dr Abuelaish, author of the bestselling I shall not hate: a Gaza doctor’s journey on the road to peace and human dignity, will be presenting two public lectures on 17 and 18 October 2011. He will be visiting the university at the invitation of Prof. Jonathan Jansen and will be hosted by the International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice.
Dr Abuelaish, currently Associate Professor at the University of Toronto, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010. He founded the Foundation “Daughters for Life” (
www.daughtersforlife.com). During his visit, he will lead group discussions by using his personal biography to explain his commitment to the transformational value of a commitment to peace and human dignity. Dr Abuelaish will also be meeting with members of the medical fraternity and the Faculties of Education and the Humanities to discuss his foundation and its role in promoting women’s education.
For more information on Dr Abuelaish’s visit, please contact Prof. Jaqueline du Toit at
DuToitJS@ufs.ac.za or Prof. André Keet on 051 401 9808.