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Fun morning for KZNDA Ladies at Garden Court Umhlanga
Fun morning for KZNDA Ladies at Garden Court Umhlanga
Last week ladies from the KZN Deaf Association (KZNDA) were treated to a fabulous morning of fun, networking, learning and sharing at the Garden Court Umhlanga; the topic at this year's event was Gender-Based Violence.
Dale Schonewolf, KZN Deaf Association's director spoke to The Bugle about the need of community awareness regarding the Deaf community in KZN and the rest of the country.
The KwaZulu Natal Deaf Association was established in 1932 as a social club for Deaf persons. Professional welfare services were rendered on an ad hoc basis by SA Council for the Deaf, until in 1991 KZNDA employed professional social workers and applied for NPO registration status.
"This year we gave each group a chance to discuss gender-based violence and allowed them to share their experiences," said Dale, "Everybody has a role to play and we believe that through our programs our members can be assets in their community."
As sign language is soon to become the 12th official language in SA, Dale and the members of the KZNDA hope that the South African government will get serious about the support for the Deaf community as a whole. She hopes that events like the morning at Garden Court Umhlanga will open opportunities for members of the Deaf community and allow them to be fully-fledged members of the community.
Garden Court Umhlanga GM, Mickey Rautenbach, who has been hosting the group for the last four years said, "As proud employers of the four Deaf chefs we see the benefits our Deaf staff have within our team," said Mickey, "They are valued members of our staff force and they have a positive impact on everyone around them, with some staff members learning to communicate in sign language."
While funding and government support is always the primary need for any non-government organisation, Dale is looking for companies, who like Mickey from Garden Court Umhlanga, would help up-skill Deaf people and give them a chance to be active participating citizens. For more information contact dale@kznda.org.za.
The KZNDA offers a "One Stop Service" to the Deaf community of KwaZulu Natal. Deaf people cannot readily access services rendered by Government departments or specialist organisations due to communication barriers and a general lack of understanding of the Deaf community. This inaccessibility in turn leads to Deaf persons being marginalised within the broader society. As such, the KZNDA renders services that are accessible to the Deaf community; meet the needs identified by the Deaf community and empowers Deaf people to be role models within the Deaf community. The Deaf community is involved in the evaluation of programmes, needs assessments and in the monitoring of service delivery on an on-going basis.