The Bartimea School for the Deaf and Blind in Thaba Nchu launched its new library on 20 March. Assistant Director of UFS Library and Information Services, Lee Goliath, said this initiative started in September 2024 during Deaf Awareness Month, when he took the UFS library staff on a visit to the Bartimea School. “The purpose of the visit was to encourage a culture of reading among the learners,” he said.
Goliath said he identified a significant need to provide more structured support for reading, and he consulted the school management, the UFS library executive management, department of South African Sign Language (SASL), and parents to explore sustainable ways to address this need.
“It became clear that the most important tool to support reading is a functional library, which did not exist at the school at the time. With further consultation and approval from the UFS Library executive team and the school management, the Bartimea School Library was formally established,” Goliath stated.
According to Kelebogile Boleu, a lecturer at the UFS and a parent of a learner with a hearing impairment, they realised the best way to help the children was to teach them how to read, and since the library supports reading literacy, this is how they started the Hearts Project, an initiative involving parents, the SASL department, and the UFS library. “Hearts exist because I really struggled with the extent of access for deaf kids in terms of education,” said Boleu.
Director of the University of Free State (UFS) Libraries Jeannet Molopyane said they wanted to make a contribution to change the future of these children and their exposure to libraries and reading material. “This is an investment in a better future. We are looking forward to what they will become in life by using this library,” Molopyane said.
Bartimea School deputy principal Dikeledi Mangoegapi said it is a privilege and they are very excited to have this library because it will cater to their deaf and blind learners. “The resources in the library are inclusive. We have Braille books and computer resources that are user-friendly for our deaf and blind learners.” She extended her gratitude to all who made it possible.
Librarian at Bartimea School Vuyelwa Mohlakane said there were no books and only donated furniture when she started in January and she managed to consult with other schools for assistance to get the library up and running. “I was open to asking questions. I was not incubated in the mindset that this is a special needs school, I went to enquire how a library works from other schools,” she said. Mohlakane said the library has an audio room for its blind learners to use for reading. “We play them audiobooks, so they can use them for reading,” she stated.
Circuit manager for Special and Independent Schools in Mangaung education district Teko Meko said this initiative means a lot to them as a district. Because of budget constraints they are unable to resource their school libraries the way they wish to. “This initiative and partnership have come at the right time, and it will make a huge impact in the lives of our learners”, he said.
Mantoni Sefudi, parent of Tshele, a deaf Grade 7 learner at Bartimea, said: “Supporting this library means getting our kids to learn to read at an early age, so that when they get to a level of expressing themselves or in university, they are confident and able to do so.”
