BlindSA appoints new president and deputy president
Shortly after the former president of BlindSA resignation, the entity has appointed Christoffel de Klerk to be the new president and Othusitse Gama to be the new deputy president of the organisation.
Blind SA is pleased to announce the appointment of a new president and deputy president following the announcement of Ntshavheni Netshituni’s resignation as president.
The entity’s deputy president, Christoffel de Klerk, was appointed as the new president to take over from Netshituni.
Othusitse Gama was declared as the new deputy president of the organisation.
De Klerk, a resident of Alberton, graduated in 1967 from Worcester’s School for the Blind, which is now called Pioneer School for the Visually Impaired.
He graduated from the University of Stellenbosch in 1970 with a BA in law and in 1972 with an LLB. From 1973 until 1979, he practiced privately as an advocate at the Cape Town Bar.
Not only has he used Braille since he entered school, but throughout the years he also developed a strong interest in the language and has remained closely involved in Braille-related activities.
The aforementioned responsibilities encompass managing the Braille production at Braille Services, providing instruction and training in Braille, promoting and developing it and creating translation tables for all local languages in the Duxbury Braille Translation System.
This also includes participating in, and subsequently chairing the Braille authority, and over two decades of involvement in ICEB work, particularly about the creation of the Unified English Braille code.
De Klerk received the SADA (South African Disability Alliance) Lifetime Achievement Award on March 15.
Gama was born in the North West in a rural area called Di Nokhana.
He matriculated at Bartimea School of the Blind and Deaf in Free State and studied education at the University of the Free State. He received an opportunity to study visual impairments and other disabilities at Perkins International School for the Blind in the USA from 2013-2014.
Gama became a member of Blind SA in 2005 and always wanted to be involved in the organisation’s work. In 2006, he started taking part in committee work.
His main love is increasing people’s knowledge of visual impairments, the struggles that blind and partially sighted individuals encounter, and how they can become more inclusive, independent, and free from discrimination.
Both of the elected candidates said that they are more than happy to be trusted with these responsibilities and will ensure that their duties are played thoroughly.
