Anglo American continues support for the Centre of Deaf Studies

The fund recently provided a R250,000 grant towards the centre's Hearing and Language Opportunities Parent Education Services (Hi-Hopes), which is the only home intervention programme in South Africa that provides support for families of deaf or hard-of-hearing children.

The funding will specifically be used towards home visits, awareness materials, training of new trainers and four up-skilling workshops for existing parent advisors in Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

The Chairman's Fund has been financially supporting the Centre for Deaf Studies at Wits University since its inception, with grants ranging from R70,000 to R250,000 in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

The centre caters for deaf babies from birth to the age of five years. Even though the programme's focus is on new-borns to three year olds, no child is turned away, and short-term interventions are carried out for the older children.

Crucial support

Professor Claudine Storbeck, Hi-Hopes' director, noted that the Chairman's Fund has proven crucial to the support for families of deaf or hard-of-hearing infants.

"We want to applaud Anglo American's Chairman's Fund for its ongoing donations, as its support has substantially transformed the lives of numerous parents and children in need. Owing to its financial assistance, the overall functioning and efficiency of the centre has been significantly enhanced and deaf babies of all genders, races and cultures now have access to services that are critical to improving their quality of life."

The Centre for Deaf Studies was founded in 1998 to improve the level of deaf education in South Africa. This objective is reached through formal study and workshops, conducting research, and providing support to families in order to ensure that children with hearing loss are school ready.

Chairman of Anglo American's Chairman's Fund, Norman Mbazima, concluded that the positive outcomes of the programme are consistent with the fund's core philosophy.

"Through the Hi-Hopes programme, the Centre for Deaf Studies has proved highly successful in reaching children in communities that are poorly resourced and which would not otherwise have access to quality early identification and early intervention services.

"As Anglo American, we are therefore pleased that we have been able to offer our continued support to the Centre for Deaf Studies, as its activities align with our own ethos of ensuring that people who are the most vulnerable in society benefit from a real and sustainable difference in their lives."