Johannesburg - One of the most beautiful things about Veronica Tesner is watching her patiently giving sign language lessons to the parents of deaf children as well as other relatives, bending their fingers the correct way so that they sign properly and don’t end up confusing their children while trying to communicate with them.
Tesner is a sign language teacher at the St Vincent School for the Deaf in Rosebank.
The school offers free sign language lessons to families of their pupils so that they are able to communicate with them.
The school found that while the school equips the children with skills to navigate their way in the hearing world and also be able to communicate with their deaf peers, many parents, however, don’t have sign language skills.
This challenge leaves deaf children feeling excluded in their own families as they can’t understand each other and therefore hardly communicate.
Video: Botho Molosankwe
Therefore, each Saturday Tesner makes her way to the school where she teaches the parents as well as members of the public sign language.
If parents are not able to attend the lessons, Tesner does home visits. She’s motivated by the need to see parents of deaf children being able to bond with them and have normal, every day conversations as a family.
Tesner is not only passionate about her job, but loves the children she teaches as her own.
She believes that the world would be a much better place if hearing people were able to sign too so that deaf people feel included in the hearing world.