Carel du Toit: Teaching Deaf Children to Speak

Imagine learning to speak a language that you have never heard before. Now imagine you cannot hear your own voice as you attempt to pronounce the words correctly… this is what deaf children at Carel du Toit are doing everyday at their school centre where they learn to speak spoken language.

The center currently has 190 students and because deafness can be detected at birth, Carel du Toit has children as young as 3 years old in their programme. From age 3 to grade 3, children at Carel du Toit learn to speak Xhosa, Afrikaans, or English. Although the focus is speech, the centre acts as a full school and provides classes in maths, science, and other standard school subjects. The programme hopes that by enabling children to speak, they will have more choices in their future regarding lifestyle, career, and school.

Some children come to the centre with cochlear implants, which are pieces of technology attached to the ear and head that allow a deaf child to hear. The devices are the most successful if a child begins wearing it at a young age because their brain develops at a rapid speech during infancy and soon thereafter. When teaching children with implants to hear, Carel du Toit creates a natural listening environment. Instead of speaking to the child face to face all the time, teachers will speak from behind the students so that they must listen rather than read lips.

In order to reach as many children as possible, Carel du Toit needs more funding. They currently get 18% of their funds from the government, but the rest relies heavily on donations. In addition to the center, there is also a Carel du Toit Trust where donations can be made. For more information, go to the website www.careldutoit.co.za

Presenter: Mkhuseli Khusi Veto

Producer: Sophie Breck 

MTN8 Legends on the Morning Cruise

Have you ever been star-struck? Today in studio we were joined by two MTN8 soccer legends. They could barely fit through the studio door with the massive trophy that they were carrying. We spoke with Brent Carelse and Edries Burton who both played in the MTN8 finals. Our news team also met some of the players out on the field.

Brent Carelse is the 2017 legend and Edries Burton was a previous legend who also played for Santos, Bafana Bafana and had a short stint with AmaZulu FC. As MTN8 legends, they are travelling the country giving motivational talks and attempting to bring hope to the young soccer players out there.

Both players want to spread the message to young players that today you can grow up to become anything and everything that you want to be. In their own careers, both players were limited to playing on a small selection of teams. Now however, “homegrown” Cape Town players have just been signed. The pool of talent has become more competitive in the past few years, both legends said, so they encourage youngsters to “carry on, keep pushing, and never give up”.

This Sunday 27 August at 3pm, Cape Town City FC will face Bidvest Witts FC in Cape Town Stadium. MTN8 will be sponsoring prizes and providing data to fans who come to the game. Both Brent Carelse and Edries Burton said that fans have been their biggest motivation during their soccer careers, so they encourage all fans and friends alike to come out to Sunday’s match.

Presenter: Mkhuseli Khusi Veto

Producer: Sophie Breck

Reach 4 Recovery: Breast Cancer Awareness Support Group

Stephaine Van Deveuter joined us in studio to talk about Reach For Recovery, which is the oldest Breast Cancer Support group in South Africa. The Organisation began in the US and moved to South Africa in 1967. It is a non-medical group that focuses on emotionally supporting women diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

Breast Cancer is the most common form of cancer in South Africa, and yet most women do not know how to check their health. Stephanie told us that the easiest examination that comes at no cost is a lump examination, which you can perform on yourself or which a doctor in a clinic can perform. Even if there is a lump, 9/10 times, the lump is benign, meaning that it is not cancer.

If indeed the diagnosis shows that breast cancer is present, Reach For Recovery supports women through their treatment. Some women need a mastectomy where one or both of their breasts is surgically removed. This can be an emotionally traumatising procedure, so Reach For Recovery provides support counselors. These counselors are cancer survivors themselves who can connect with the emotions that current patients are experiencing.

In addition to supporting and guiding diagnosed women, Reach For Recovery also provides free silicone prosthesis breast replacements for women who cannot afford them themselves. The programme is called the ditto Prosthesis Project where the proceeds from mushroom bundles from Pick n Pay go towards the cost of the breast replacements.

To learn more or get involved with Reach For Recovery, visit the website www.reach4recovery.org.za or follow the facebook page: Reach for Recovery SA

Presenter: Mkhuseli Khusi Veto

Producer: Sophie Breck

Youth Dialogue Expo with the Deputy Minister of Presidency

We had the pleasure of speaking to The Deputy Minister of Presidency this morning. He spoke with us about the Youth Dialogue Expo that he attended in Gugulethu today at the Gugulethu sports complex. The expo included career counseling, finance education, and educational guidance for local youth.

The Deputy Minister wants to invest in young people and in entrepreneurship, so he hopes that this expo will provide resources that make education and employment more tangible. The expo is a buildup for another event that will take place in Khayelitsha on Saturday.

Presenter: Mkhuseli Khusi Veto

Producer: Sophie Breck