Canadian
Community Shares
with
the Children of SA
BY CLAIRE BYRD
North American parents tell their children not
to watch too much television, but teachers at the New Hope Centre, a school
for the mute and hearing- impaired in Worcester, South Africa, use television
as a source of therapy.
Wilhelmina Fredericks, a Montreal ( Notre-Dame-de-Grace)
film-maker from Zerf Productions, and David St-Pierre, her associate
producer, have visited the school and videotaped some of the 500 students
from the centre. When the children saw themselves on television for the
first time, they made sounds the teachers had never heard before.
"They cried and climbed onto the TV and tried
to get inside the set," said Fredericks. "The caretakers said this is one
of the best therapy methods the children have ever had in their lives.
They moaned and groaned as if they were cheering and shouting. They have
never spoken before; they've only used sign language," she added.
AMAZED
The teachers were amazed at the children's
enthusiasm and have decided to use the videotapes for therapy, hoping the
children will continue to make
sounds and eventually talk.
Fredericks said the students, aged three to
21, never learned a spoken language because they live a secluded life.
The school is isolated in the heart of wine country, which makes it almost
impossible for the children to
communicate with people who can hear.
Most people take the ability to hear for granted.
But for the hearing impaired simple sounds like music, the singing of birds
and the noise of children are lost.
Fredericks and St-Pierre visited the school
after helping Zerf Productions South Africa arrange for the NDG community
to send clothing, computers and books to the children who are in need.
"It was great to see the reaction to my work,"
Fredericks said. "Here we take television for granted. We just put the
tape into the VCR and there we go. In South Africa, the kids didn't expect
to see themselves. They were pulling on me, wanting me to play the tape
over and over again."
The Centre was founded by the Dutch Reformed
Church in 1928. Its mission is to offer the children dignity by providing
them the educational skills to become independent. The Centre caters only
to Métis students from across the country. Fredericks believes that,
with South Africa's shift to a truly democratic society, there is hope
that hearing-impaired students from various cultural
backgrounds will have a chance to attend the centre.
| Canadian
Community Shares with the Children of SA |
| Zerf
Productions sponsors local talent to aid South Africa |
| Wilhelmina's
Corner |
| A
message from the President of Zerf Productions |
| Zerf
Main Page |
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