Simangele Mabena (2011 - 2012)

South Africa

Simangele’s ambition is “to use my own voice to advocate for the Deaf community, while building the capacity of the Deaf community to advocate for themselves.”

Her involvement in Deaf Education came by chance. In her final year of high school, four Deaf girls enrolled in her school and offered interested students the opportunity to learn basic South African Sign Language after school to facilitate better communication with them. Those brief lessons greatly influenced the direction of Simangele’s life, as she went on to study South African Sign Language and Deaf Culture Studies as an accompaniment to her BA in Dramatic Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. During this time, she also volunteered with Deaf Television (DeafTV) as a trainee interpreter.

Simangele’s dismay over the reality of high levels of illiteracy amongst the Deaf community and the need for advocacy surrounding the access to equal education for Deaf children led to her passion for both drama and education.

After graduation, she spent a year as a special needs youth worker in Vancouver, B.C., where she investigated different methodologies of teaching special needs youth. Returning to South Africa in 2007, Simangele enrolled in a Masters of Arts in Dramatic Arts with a focus on Applied Drama and Theatre and volunteered as an English tutor at a local school for the Deaf and interpreter at the Deaf Federation of South Africa (AEAFSA). There, she was first introduced to the Visual Theatre company From the Hip: Khulumakahle (FTH:K) , South Africa’s premier theatre company that works with both Deaf and hearing actors. She used FTH:K for a case study on the use of theatre techniques to devise a collective dialogue between Deaf and hearing performers.

In 2008, she was selected for a Mandela Rhodes Scholarship (MRS), awarded for a demonstrated commitment to the principles of Reconciliation, Education, Entrepreneurship and Leadership, and met other like minded and passionate young African leaders making tangible change in Africa. After completing her studies, Simangele worked as an advocate for arts education for disadvantaged learners, and after reconnecting with FTH:K, she joined the company as the Education Coordinator, designing and scheduling the flagship Tell-Tale Signs Program. The four-tiered Tell-Tale Signs Program has already won two awards for its work in empowering the Deaf and as a model of integration within the field of Arts and Culture in South Africa.

Simangele is a member of the Community of Mandela Rhodes Scholars (CMRS), an alumni organization of the Mandela Rhodes Scholars where she serves as the regional coordinator and Projects Officer of the Executive Committee. In addition to the MRS, Simangele has received numerous awards including being named one of the Top 200 Young South Africans by the Mail & Guardian national newspaper in 2010.

As her Sauvé Scholar project, Simangele is working to further the findings of her Master’s Research project which highlighted the innovative use of play and non-linguistic devices in the creation of theatre performances accessible to integrated audiences of Deaf and hearing people. She will investigate the use of play techniques in literacy education for Deaf students and the potential power of using play to create communication and connection between hearing and Deaf individuals. At the same time, she expects to gain insight into the broader framework of education theory and policy. Specifically, she intends to develop strategies to advocate for a radical change in Deaf Education in South Africa, where arts education plays a role in the holistic education of Deaf students.

Simangele collects coins, reads, swims, watches cinema and is currently attempting to have as much grace (and fun!) as possible on the dance floor while learning to dance the salsa, which it seems she will have lots of opportunity to practice with fellow salsa enthusiast Sauvé Scholars.

Mother Tongue

Sesotho and English (mother tongues) -- other languages: South African Sign Language, Afrikaans, Isizulu

Country of origin

South Africa

Country of Residence

South Africa

Profession

advocacy