With September being Deaf Awareness Month, differently abled student Sthembiso Thabethe, a hearing impaired student speaks of his journey at the Durban University of Technology (DUT).

The prudent young man, who is also part of the Differently Abled Students Association (DASA), has endeavoured to go beyond the limitations that are placed on him because of his hearing loss and had graduated with his Diploma in Information Technology (IT) in 2020. He is pursuing his Advanced Diploma of Technology in IT.

His hearing impairment has always been very challenging for him, but he has been fortunate enough to have met people who have made his life less challenging academically and much more easy going, especially Gugu Sacolo at the DUT Disability Right Unit (DRU) with DASA, differently abled student team members.

Ever since joining DUT he has often been asked about his motivations and his route to higher education. For him, it was simple, he knew he wanted to learn a skill and gain a profession; the one that suited his talents was Information Technology.

As a deaf person Thabethe feels privileged with the opportunities of higher education and a wealth of experience at University. He was supported by many key people in his route to university. With their support and forward-thinking of his teachers, he always thought and knew university was an option for him.

“The DUT IT department have the best sign language interpreters, Miss Sandile Mngadi, Mrs Nokuthula Phakathi and Mrs Kanaye our retired Deaf coordinator who makes life easier for me and others because they love their job so much as I am with my studies. We have enough resources to work with groups or independently in Deaf Centre Lab,” said Thabethe.

He explained that in his first two years at DUT, he was not sure why he was doing IT at first, and in his third year he sought help on guidance for his future career.

“Luckily, the University’s lecturers, and sign language interpreters helped me to understand the career path and future job market through them. I also have learnt a lot from different lecturers, made lots of friends and I am thankful to my study partners Melusi Malebo, Khayelihle Msimango, Sphilile Dladla and Innocent Machete who always call every morning me to remind me about classes, test schedules or any urgent activities, giving me feedback notes from class if there are was no interpreter present,” he commented.

Thabethe explained that he had lost his hearing when he was eight years of age and was forced to give up on education which resulted in him spending four years at home before his grandmother found a new school for deaf pupils, called KwaThintwa School for the Deaf, located in Old Main Road, Harrison, Cato Ridge.

“Looking at the transformation of my life as a young boy and coming from a low-income household to graduate at University as a software engineer here today; I am eternally grateful to the system for allowing this to happen, so that I can learn, work, enjoy, contribute, and succeed,” he added proudly.

Thabethe counts as having a strong role model like his great grandmother Irene Thabethe, and having had an enormous impact on his life.

“She is a strong, independent, very persistent, and the most caring woman who is always willing to do anything for me and the family. She has been there for every major event in my life ever since the passing of my parents when I was very young. She is the most amazing woman I have ever lived with, and I could not imagine my life without her today. She never hesitated to put all my needs and wants before her own. I have looked to her for help at every difficult moment in my life and on many occasions. I have a lot of friends who are my age, but I cannot talk to them or my family the same way I can talk to her. I would tell her everything in my life and she always listens and gives me advice,” he added.

Thabethe expressed that it becomes vital to be a member of DASA, saying that being part of the association had given him the freedom which he needed for his growth, leadership, communication, teamwork, organisation skills, and it also has afforded him the opportunity to understand other people’s problems.

“I also had the chance to support different groups and give a voice to the voiceless. This was indeed a great opportunity I experienced to better understand how inequalities can affect different individuals and groups and I have a chance to do something about it,” said Thabethe

Thabethe is also part of the House committee members due to lack of residence interpreters. He also takes part in Residence life events and is in the Residence football team. In his spare time, he enjoys volunteering his time doing community service or charity work. He is also a sport addict who loves competing in a team or in a league especially football, hiking or other exercises.

Explaining his journey studying online during the COVID-19 pandemic, Thabethe relayed that as a deaf student he thought his life was over when COVID-19 forced the University to close all residences, and he looked at the pandemic totally transforming education in a way he found to be impossible have proven to be possible.

“The studies are structured much better than I expected. I don’t really see a difference between the online and offline structures. Having the opportunity to see the sign language interpreter is enough on my screen during general classes group work that is done in separate channels, we also have allocated time slots for those discussions. When the time is over, we then join the general channel to continue the class together with the sign language interpreter. Although sometimes interpreters aren’t available so we need more interpreters in the future,” he conveyed.

His advice to other differently abled students who are studying at DUT is to be patient, study well, work hard and enjoy life.

“Allow yourself to be curious because there is so much to learn that isn’t on the tests. To deaf students to carry your pen or notepad because sign language interpreters are not always available,” relayed Thabethe.

His future plan is to keep working hard in order to join a top software development company, save as much as he can, and maintain his health and fitness.

“Most importantly to live happily and be able to start my own business that offers technology and training services and give back to the most disadvantaged people including differently abled people,” he said.

Pictured: Sthembiso Thabethe

Waheeda Peters