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Siphilangenkosi Dlamini named one of South Africa’s 100 Shining Stars

11 November 2022 | Story Anthony Mthembu | Photo Barend Nagel

Siphilangenkosi Dlamini, a fourth-year Governance and Political Transformation student at the University of the Free State (UFS), has been selected as one of South Africa’s 100 Shining Stars for 2022 by Inside Education, in partnership with the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA).

“I was more surprised than anything, but also very honoured,” he said. Dlamini, who made it into the Civil Society and Youth category, was chosen from a pool of 800 applicants for his remarkable work with the Help a Student initiative, and his services as the former secretary of the Southern Africa Scout Youth Forum. Although he could not attend the award ceremony held in Johannesburg on 20 October 2022 in person, Dlamini did receive a certificate. “What we do a lot of the time isn’t for recognition and it’s not necessarily for awards; but getting recognised motivates and assures me that the work we are doing has an impact,” he expressed.

The Help a Student Initiative

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dlamini recognised a rise in food insecurity among his fellow students. This set him on a path to source funding for the establishment of the project.

The Help a Student initiative aimed to curb food insecurity through the provision of food parcels to UFS students who were in need. The project, which ran from 2020 until early 2021, managed to distribute food parcels to nearly 250 students per month. The initiative did not only assist students who were on campus. The selected applicants who were at home or off campus also received digital food vouchers, which allowed for the purchasing of food items at Pick n Pay and/or Shoprite.

“Food security is something that I am passionate about. I grew up in a community where it was a massive issue.

However, in the past I was not empowered enough to know how to solve it. Therefore, when the opportunity presented itself to do something about it, I took it with both hands,” Dlamini expressed.

Although the recognition was not expected, Dlamini maintains that such platforms are imperative, as “they demonstrate that young people are doing something to improve the country in the different capacities they are in”.

News Archive

Emily Matabane transforms perceptions of the deaf community

2014-09-22

Emily Matabane

September is International Deaf Awareness Month and Emily Matabane – a lecturer at our Department of Sign Language – let us into the world of the deaf. A world she herself lives in.

Through the aid of Tshisikhawe Dzivhani, an interpreter, Matabane shared her experiences with us in a question and answer (Q & A) session.

Q: Tell us about your career as a lecturer in Sign Language.

A: I started working at the university as a Sign Language lecturer in 2000. I have a lot of deaf and hard of hearing people in my family and I also went to a deaf school. My mother is hard hearing and after graduation I taught her sign language. This made me want to teach other people sign language, who in turn will teach more people as well.

Q: What are common misconceptions about the deaf community?

A: Hearing people will often think you are stupid if you are deaf. But in fact we can still understand people – for instance, if they write down what they want to say when we don’t have an interpreter with us.

People also thought I couldn’t drive or buy a car because I am deaf – while I actually had a valid driver’s license. When I wanted to get a loan at the bank to buy my car, they wanted a doctor’s letter to prove that I’m allowed to drive, even though I have a license. Eventually, I did get the loan and I did buy the car!

Q: How can hearing people support the deaf community?

A: People can learn sign language. That is what I wanted to achieve when coming to university as a Sign Language lecturer. Hearing students who will become psychologists, teachers and social workers will be able to work with deaf people and perhaps teach others sign language too. Deaf people simply need more people to socialise with them.

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