03 Feb 2016

Diamond Trading Company (DTC) Botswana will tomorrow unveil a sponsorship of more than P412 000 to the Botswana Society for the Deaf’s Francistown Centre. 

A press release from DTC Botswana says the event will take place at the Francistown Centre for Deaf Education, and will be attended by the Attorney General, Dr Athaliah Molokomme, DTC Botswana CSI Committee chairperson and the mayor of Francistown. 

“Diamond Trading Company Botswana is excited to partner with the Botswana Society for the Deaf (BSD), and the sponsorship will go a long way in alleviating educational equipment shortages, thereby enhancing learning and teaching,” says the release.

DTC Botswana, the release says, has sponsored the centre with educational equipment such as smart boards and sign language books to address the educational needs at the institution. 

The smart board is very helpful during teaching and learning as the deaf learners learn visually. The gadgets help the learners to learn on their own when the teacher is not around. Smart boards can be used for any form of teaching and learning, states the release.

The smart board technology enables educators to personalise learning for students, which is the core basis to sound education. It also enables educators to use various methods in the teaching and learning process to significantly improve student engagement and attention by appealing to the sensory and memory learning abilities of every student. 

The Francistown Centre for Deaf Education is a residential school with 106 students and 55 teachers and support staff. The centre accommodates students from the northern part of the country. 

Botswana Society for the Deaf, whose patron is the third President of Botswana, Dr Festus Mogae, was established in 1979 as a non-profit, non-governmental charitable organisation aimed at fulfilling the needs of people with hearing impairment. 

The society is affiliated to the Botswana Council for the Disabled and Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations and is managed by the community through the board of governors consisting of eight members. 

It is responsible to ensuring that programme activities geared towards people with hearing impairment are implemented. The society operates both the Ramotswa Centre for Deaf Education and Francistown Centre for Deaf Education, states the release. Ends