Bophelo Mogashoa is a two-year-old girl living with her parents, Boitumelo and Jabu Kubheka, in Diepkloof Zone Five in Soweto. She looks like any other child her age, but there is one significant difference: She is deaf and her parents discovered her condition only by chance.
”Every time you called or spoke to her from behind, she would not respond. It was only when you make eye contact that she took notice. I realised something was wrong,” said her mother, Boitumelo.
”The other day she was in front of the TV and I tried to call her, but she did not respond and I shouted really hard, but still she didn’t react,” said her father, Jabu Kubheka.
These occurences led Boitumelo on a journey to getting an expert’s opinion on Bophelo’s condition. Her trips took her to several medical institutions including Baragwanath Hospital, where it was confirmed that Bophelo was deaf.
The next step was to seek help so that Bophelo’s situation could be addressed before it became a barrier in her life. But her parents had no clue who to approach. Fortunately they came across an advert for Hi Hopes in a newspaper. Hi Hopes is an organisation that helps families deal with children with hearing problems.
Hi Hopes has a tailor-made programme to help mostly frustrated hearing parents who struggle with their hearing-impaired children.
”Since we made contact with Hi Hopes, we feel relieved as we can cope better with Bophelo’s situation. Before Hi Hopes, I was depressed and did not know how we were going to handle it. I could not bear the thought of my daughter (Boitumelo) raising a deaf child on her own. It felt like it was a curse,” said Shela Mogashoa (Bophelo’s grandmother).
Claudine Storbeck founded Hi Hopes in 2006 to empower hearing people with knowledge and information about deafness so that they can relate better to deaf people.
Storbeck said most deaf children are born of hearing parents who lack experience in dealing with a deaf child. Hi Hopes’s services are driven by the belief that the family is the most important element in the life of the young child and all people who feature in the child’s life must form part of the programme, she said.
Two other critical elements of the programme are ”parent adviser and deaf mentor”. The parent adviser deals more with parents and the deaf mentor’s role is directed more to the child.
When the Teacher met the Mogashoas, the Hi Hopes team, comprising parent adviser Carla Zille and deaf mentor Vuyo Ntukwana, were there. Both Zille and Ntukwana are deaf.
Ntukwana used to tutor adults in sign language at Wits University. He said Bophelo stood a good chance of overcoming her disability because of her age.
”I come from a hearing family. When I was young, there were no sophisticated hearing aids. One had to learn the hard way. Before I joined Hi Hopes, I used to think that my family did not like me. Now I realise the difficulty they were faced with as they did not know how to relate to me,” he said.
Zille said: ”The key communication tool for a deaf person is visual communication. If you say that you are happy and yet fail to express this facially or visually, you would confuse a deaf person. Deaf people rely on visual cues, gestures and body language.”
She said parents should talk to their deaf children because this helps them to develop lip-reading skills, a key aspect in facilitating understanding for a deaf person.
The project was piloted in Gauteng, but the idea is to expand it nationally. Hi Hopes offers free training to those interested in becoming parent advisers or deaf mentors. The next round of training will take place in March.
Hi Hopes operates from the Wits Centre for Deaf Studies and relies mainly on funding from donors for its survival. Donations are welcome and those interested can contact (011) 717-3750 or [email protected]