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07 October 2024 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied
Deaf awareness Campaign 2024
Boipelo Leteane, Amahle Jemane, Zinzile Sibiya (Speech-Language Pathologist at UAH), Ntsatsi Dingaan-Mokushane, Andani Madzivhandila, Yolanda Nzume (Administration Clerk at UAH) and Dr Phindile Shangase at the Deaf Awareness Campaign at the UFS.

The Department of Speech Therapy and Audiology at Universitas Academic Hospital (UAH), in partnership with the Division of Public Health at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently held their annual Deaf Awareness Campaign with much success.

The campaign, which is the brainchild of Andani Madzivhandila, a Cochlear Implant MAPping Audiologist at Universitas Academic Hospital (UAH), is in its second year and was attended by Deaf students from the UFS, community members and academics from the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences, including Dr Phindile Shangase from the Division of Public Health at the UFS in collaboration with UAH Speech Therapy and Audiology staff.

Purpose of the event

The event took place on 28 September 2024 in the foyer of the Francoise Retief building. September is the International Month for Deaf People. The Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Med-EL assisted with some sponsorship to make the event a success. Ntsatsi Dingaan-Mokushane, the Assistant Director for Speech Therapy and Audiology at UAH, opened the ceremony and highlighted the importance of Deaf Awareness Campaigns in general and further elaborated on the World Federation of the Deaf theme for 2024, which is “Sign up for sign language rights”.

Dr Shangase shared her experiences and challenges of living with hearing loss and how she manages it, and further elaborated that the purpose of the event was to raise awareness of the different types of hearing loss, especially deafness. It was also to raise awareness of the challenges encountered by Deaf people and to discuss available technologies to assist those with hearing loss as well as those who are born profoundly Deaf.

The event is organised to share experiences from professionals, those with hearing loss as well as the Deaf community, to share experiences on coping and managing life with hearing loss as well as deafness. The organisers try to educate the public about Deaf culture, sign language and the experiences of Deaf people and to help combat stereotypes, stigmas and misconceptions surrounding deafness. The event is also to promote inclusion and encourage equal access to education, employment, healthcare as well as breaking down communication barriers and address systemic and social barriers that hinder Deaf individuals’ participation.

Sharing lived experiences

According to Dr Shangase, the event highlighted the progress as well as gaps in support interventions for those who live with hearing loss and deafness. Says Dr Shangase: “Availability of technologies was highlighted as facilitating different forms of participation for those with hearing loss and deafness. However, it was clear that most of the available technologies are not being adopted in workplaces as well as in communities.”

Boipelo Leteane, a parent of a two-year-old child who was born deaf, shared her experiences and her journey before and after her child had undergone a cochlear implant, while Madzivhandila shed some light on the challenges faced by healthcare professionals when hearing loss/deafness is diagnosed and needs to be managed. 

Amahle Jemane also shared her personal experiences and challenges she faces daily as a signing young female in South Africa, where the majority of the population use spoken language, and she uses South African Sign Language (SASL). 

News Archive

Breyten Breytenbach shares his words and philosophies
2013-03-05

 

Breyten Breytenbach
Photo: Johan Roux
02 March 2013

The Department of Philosophy at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently hosted Breyten Breytenbach as part of its Colloquium series.

In a packed Odeion theatre, Breytenbach shared his words and views relating to poetry and philosophy. The session was chaired by Prof Pieter Duvenhage from the Department of Philosophy, who noted the symbiotic relationship which exists between the two seemingly distinct disciplines.

Breytenbach is one of South Africa’s best-known literary sons, gaining worldwide recognition for his writings and poetry, as well as his political activism against the erstwhile Apartheid regime. He left the country in 1960 due to Apartheid and settled in Paris where his first collection of poetry was published in 1964. It was the beginning of a prizewinning literary career spanning multiple languages and decades.

He returned illegally in 1975 in order to agitate against the repressive National Party government, but was arrested, spending seven years in prison after being charged with terrorism.

The audience was treated to a reading from an unpublished work from Breytenbach, A letter to my daughter. The lengthy letter outlined Breytenbach's world views, his sense of the creative process, his philosophies and his takes on current and historical events.

A large part of the letter focused on the philosophical and emotional processes involved in writing.“Writing is the travelling of its own landscape; landscapes and rooms that may always have been there,” he said.

He noted that it’s not always an easy process, and that sometimes writers need to explore the abysses, which can be unnerving.

“In this regard it is important to know that emptiness exists,” he said.

He stressed his concern over some of the problems the country currently faces, especially the abuse of state institutions. He was especially worried about the abuse of power. He warned that “power has its own predatory identity,” often abused and misused by those who wield it.

Despite his misgivings, Breytenbach still retains his optimism for the country and its people. He remarked that the country and its many diverse cultures resembles a “fantastic patchwork blanket,” one that should be cherished and protected.

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