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Making an impact through care: Outreach programme benefits Deaf community

08 September 2022 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin

Bartimea school outreach — Annemarie Le Roux and two of the learners from the Bartimea School for the Deaf and Blind.

It was a perfect Spring Day with laughter, cupcakes, and the brightest smiles on excited little faces of learners from the Bartimea School for the Deaf and Blind in front of the Main Building of the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS). The UFS Department of Deaf Studies and South African Sign Language hosted the school on 1 September 2022 for a day of learning, fun, and lots of games to kickstart #DeafAwarenessMonth.

The relationship between the department and the school is stronger than ever, and after a two-year hiatus both staff and learners were basking in the excitement of the day. The school faced closure back in 2016 and it was in this year that the department and the student group Signals started a project to visit the school, which saw them participate in different activities with the learners. “We helped the school with the cleaning up of the school grounds and painting the playgrounds,” said Annemarie Le Roux, South African Sign Language lecturer at the UFS.

UFS could set blueprint for outreach to Deaf communities

The department and the UFS are in a unique position to set a blueprint for engaged scholarship with the Bartimea school in Thaba ’Nchu and the Thiboloha School for the Deaf and Blind in Phuthaditjhaba (formerly Qwaqwa).

The Bartimea outreach is an important project for the department because it not only enables the students to put their teachings into practice but also demonstrates the engaged scholarship mandate of the UFS. Le Roux believes more teachers should be able to use SASL in schools, and the UFS could facilitate such training opportunities. “It would be wonderful if the university and the school could work together in engaged teaching and learning.” She added that leaners at the two schools sometimes do not get all the information they need when applying to universities.

Le Roux thinks the relationship between Bartimea and the department could enable meaningful action to foster engaged citizenship. “We can help with fundraising, because the school is always in need of funding, as most parents cannot contribute to helping the school.”

Putting teaching excellence into practice

This engagement with Bartimea allows students to put what they have learned in lecture halls into practice. “Students who attend the visits to the school or the school to the university understand more about the culture, and want to learn more and develop their language skills,” Le Roux said. “Before the COVID-19 pandemic we took our third-year and honours students to the school to give them access to the Deaf community.” Furthermore, the engagement helps students gain a better understanding of Deaf culture and sign language.

Also visit our Deaf Awareness Month webpage for more information.

News Archive

Prof Johan Spies learns about much more than genetics in Argentina

2014-04-23

People who attended the course enjoyed Argentina and its traditions very much.

Prof Johan Spies from the Department of Genetics visited Argentina, where he and Dr Carlos Acuna (Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Corrientes, Argentina) presented a course for doctoral students and staff of Cerzos-Conicet Bahia Blanca (something like the equivalent of South Africa’s NRF) and Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bahia Blanca. Prof Spies presented chromosomal evolution and its effect on fertility, while Dr Acuna took care of apomixis.

Bahia Blanca is a city with a population of almost the same as that of Bloemfontein. The city lies at the mouth of the Naposta River, which almost forms a delta where it flows into the sea. Bahia Blanca (white bay) derives its name from the salt deposits that lends a white colour to the beaches.

The people are very friendly and one soon learns to extend a long arm in greeting. Otherwise you are stuck with an ‘Ola’ while men and women alike will grab even a complete stranger to plant a kiss on your cheek. For people who places great value on personal space, this friendly gesture is not always as welcome!

Barbeque is a choice dish and is usually in the form of beef rib. “It was great (especially if you shut your eyes and ignore the scrumptious fat and future heart attacks)! With the rib they usually had blood sausage and very tasty pork sausage on the grid. Everywhere people are sipping, through a silver straw, their ‘mate’ (pronounce maty), a type of tea made from the leaves and stems of Yerba paraguariensis. It is generally drunk from a special calabash ‘cup’ through a silver straw, which also serves as sift to keep the leaves from your mouth. The calabash is usually passed from one person to another, with each person taking a sip from the brew! It is even passed around in class! Another thing in conflict with the upbringing I received from my mother (as is the cup at communion)!,” says Prof Spies.

“My short visit also taught me that the Argentinians are a proud nation that often faced adversity in the past. Nevertheless, they do not try to change their past. Street names even refer to dates from their past when, for example, they were attacked by England (in 1807). Only the almost 30 000 people who disappeared under the military regime, are rarely talked about!,” says Prof Spies.

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