“IF the intervention is right, deaf people can succeed.” Those were the words of KwaZulu-Natal Blind and Deaf Society (KZNBDS) deputy president Nayantra Kanaye at the launch of the organisation’s Victor Daitz Computer School and the 2025 TalkSign campaign on Friday, February 7.

Kanaye said the Society is on a mission to upskill their deaf clients with the aim of equipping them for the competitive job market and to navigate the demands of higher education. She said, “Our focus is the empowerment of our clients with skills development and creating awareness within the community. We realised that businesses are looking for people with computer skills and that being computer literate can assist learners going into tertiary education with assignment and research.”

Kanaye said the non-profit organisation had a computer lab which had become outdated and needed an upgrade. Veetha Sewkuran, president of KZNBDS, said the Victor Daitz Foundation, Impactful IT, and Altron Digital Solutions came on board to kick-start the 12 months programme. “The one-year SETA-accredited programme will culminate in an End User Computer Certification, opening new avenues of opportunity for our deaf youth,” said Sewkuran. “The programme will be six months of theory and six months internship at corporates and businesses, who will be willing to take on deaf interns.”

Also Read: New computer centre for KZN Blind and Deaf Society

Among those who will benefit from the programme is Mthokozisi Mnyandu. The youngster from Ntuzuma is hopeful that an official qualification will jumpstart his career. “Once the programme is done, I would like to get a job because I have many qualifications but remain unemployed,” said Mnyandu as he expressed his joy at being part of the programme while encouraging other deaf youth to sign up.

He said, “When deaf people think of IT, they think they can’t do it because of the communications aspect of it but it can be learnt. This programme does not need you to have qualifications because you learn IT, what it is and what it does. Being deaf does not affect the learning process, you just need someone to explain things to you in a way that you understand and you learn better.”

His sentiments were shared by Shaun Mostert of Impactful IT who encouraged learners to embrace this opportunity, emphasising that digital skills will open new doors for them. “With this programme, they do not just get the theoretical skills but it integrates them into society and the workplace. It is a privilege for us to drive this programme because learners who are hard of hearing and those who are deaf have been disadvantaged in the past. This gives them an opportunity to learn and to grow as individuals, giving them a voice to say we are part of the community and we would like the same opportunities with able-bodied people,” said Mostert.

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