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MOSSEL BAY NEWS AND VIDEO - The government ruled that people must wear a mask made from cloth to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

However, this is an imposition for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing because they are reliant on seeing and reading people's lips. 

Also, Sign Language involves much touching of the face, so if the mask is covering much of the face, this is a problem.

In an interview with the Advertiser, a Mossel Bay teacher of the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing, Leana Jansen van Rensburg, said with regards to fabric masks: "They're definitely an issue, because Sign Language has a lot to do with mouthing and facial expression is important; it forms part of the language.

"Movement of the mouth is important and you have to blow up your cheeks with some signs. To indicate the colour, red, you touch the mouth with the index finger."

Jansen van Rensburg teaches at the Deaf Unit at Carpe Diem school for children with special needs in George.

WATCH: Leana Jansen van Rensburg demonstrates Sign Language:

See-through window
To deal with the problem of having to wear masks, the Deaf children have been provided masks with a see-through window so the mouth can be seen and the teachers may wear plastic screens.

Carpe Diem principal Elzeth Grobler thanked Fine Design Interiors in George for the special masks with a "window" for the mouth for the children so that they can still lip read and she thanked CGI Engineers in Cape Town for the plastic screen masks donated to Carpe Diem for the teachers and Deaf children.

Explaining how she learnt Sign Language and became a teacher of the Deaf, Jansen van Rensburg, aged 34, said: "As a child I had a friend who was Deaf and in communicating with her, I learnt Sign Language. I went on to do interpreting, because I was fluent in Sign Language. The need for people who know Sign Language is so huge that you always have work.

"I worked as a teacher at two schools at Gauteng and now I am at Carpe Diem."

The Deaf Unit at Carpe Diem was opened officially on 3 February this year. It is the only unit for the Deaf in the distance from Port Elizabeth to Worcester and the hinterland.

There is only an informal school in the township in Knysna, run by a woman who is Deaf.

Jansen van Rensburg said: "If a child is born deaf and diagnosed as deaf, there is sometimes no school nearby for them to attend."

She points out that deaf or hard of hearing children should learn to communicate as soon as possible. Because of the lack of schools and because one cannot send a very young child to boarding school, these children usually went to institutions for the blind or autistic and they were starved of language and communication.

This is a heartbreaking situation for deaf children.

Eager to learn
Jansen van Rensburg says when deaf children who have been deprived of language, see one starting to sign and communication opens up for them, they are so eager to learn, they are like sponges, absorbing information and progressing quickly. "Some are so starved of vocabulary, they constantly point to this and that, wanting to know what everything is called."

The Deaf Unit at Carpe Diem caters for children aged three to eight years. Jansen van Rensburg says it is extremely important for the children to come to the unit at an early age so the foundation for language can be laid in time and they can be ready to attend the Deaf schools in Worcester or Port Elizabeth.

There are six children in the Deaf Unit currently.

Jansen van Rensburg says: "I wish more people would enrol their deaf children in our school. Some parents are stubborn and when they hear Sign Language, they prefer their child to be able to speak rather than to sign.

"The sooner a child is diagnosed as deaf, the sooner he or she can learn a language - if there is some hearing. A hearing test determines if the child is able to learn speech or not.

"It's very difficult to talk if you can't hear. Some children who are very deaf have gone through intensive speech therapy. It takes years for them and is a brutal thing to go through," says Jansen van Rensburg, indicating that it is often far kinder towards the child to allow them to learn Sign Language and for them to interact with other Deaf children.

Friends
"Deaf children like to be with other Deaf children. They don't feel completely part of the hearing world. Most of them want Deaf friends so they can identify with them."

Jansen van Rensburg enthuses: "If you have a passion for Sign Language and you are committed, it is not difficult to learn it. It is a visual language, so if you think in pictures, you are more likely to do it. Sign Language is amazing. I love every moment of it."

If you would like to learn Sign Language, contact the school (044 874 4074). "We would like to offer Sign Language lessons if there is enough interest. These would be online because of lockdown regulations," Jansen van Rensburg says.

Carpe Diem School is a non-profit organisation and is reliant on sponsors. Because of the Covid-19 lockdown economic effects, several of the learners' parents lost their jobs.

The school has a nutrition programme for the learners. During the lockdown the principal and teachers contributed money to buy food for the children and the principal obtained a permit to deliver the food during the lockdown. Also, because of the lockdown, the school had to cancel three major fundraising events.

If you would like to make a donation, contact the school (044 874 4074). Also, visit the school Facebook page: @carpediemschoolgeorge.

Leana Jansen van Rensburg wearing the  mask with a window being used at the Carpe Diem Deaf Unit. Photos: Supplied

The Mossel Bay Advertiser has been informed that the most politically correct terms are "Deaf" and "Hard of Hearing" and not "hearing impaired", which implies there is a disability. Usually the words, deaf and hard of hearing, are used without capital letters when referring to hearing loss - the medical term. However, the words are capitalised for those who identify themselves as members of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community or culture. In "Sign Language", the "S" and "L" are also usually uppercase.

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