Cell C has partnered with the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities to present a school for the disabled with a disability-responsive ICT lab.
Women, children and people with disabilities deputy-minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu will today hand over the lab to the Phokeng in Education School of Excellence, in Rustenburg, North-West.
According to department spokesperson Emilie Olifant, the lab is equipped with a wide range of equipment, including computers, flat screens, software for the disabled, an index Braille stapler and connectivity. Cell C sponsored R378 000 towards the project, she says.
According to Oliphant, Phokeng in Education is an independent training and skills development academy, which specialises in Braille studies, South African sign language, and ICT training for disabled youth, partially-sighted, blind, hard of hearing and deaf persons in and around the rural villages of Rustenburg and the greater North-West province.
The institution also provides South African sign language interpretation courses, as well as training in scarce skills such as Braille production services and orientation and mobility services to enable blind and partially-sighted people to live more independent lives.
"[The new ICT lab] will ensure the needs of each individual are addressed through disability-responsive technology, as the one-size-fits-all approach would not be appropriate," says Oliphant.
"The lab ensures reasonable accommodation for students with disabilities in all aspects of their lives, by providing them with these computers in order to assist them to achieve their academic qualifications. [The lab helps] the school empower students with disabilities with essential skills in order to be able to start their own businesses."
She says the lab will also assist Phokeng in Education to continue providing bridging programmes for people with disabilities between school and work, or between school and FET colleges, in order to alleviate challenges faced by most blind and deaf learners after completing matric.
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