As the country observes Deaf Awareness Month, Phumzile Mazibuko and Lindokuhle Mashiane are debunking common myths associated with the deaf community.
JOHANNESBURG – Despite brewing thousands of cups of coffee, Phumzile Mazibuko has never heard the sound of a coffee grinder or the sound of steaming milk.
Her colleague Lindokuhle Mashiane – who is a chef – is also unfamiliar with the noises of appliances clattering, sizzling meat, including bubbling and boiling.
Despite the pair being deaf, they have both succeeded in breaking down obstacles to employment for the community of the hard of hearing and the deaf.
As the country observes Deaf Awareness Month, the pair says there are many myths about people with hearing impairments that they prove wrong daily.
MASHIANE
Twenty-nine year old Mashiane, who was deaf from birth, was motivated to pursue her passion for cooking and baking by her mother and grandmother.
She attended the Trans Oranje School for the Deaf.
She completed a training course at the Capital Hotel Group before joining ANEW Hotel Highveld, in Witbank, in 2017, where she is now a pastry chef focusing on exquisite desserts and crunchy salads.
With her amazing sense of smell, Mashiane is able to distinguish between different bakers.
“I can tell who cooked something in the kitchen just by smelling it after it’s just been baked. Without tasting a malva pudding once, I warned one of the bakers that it contained too much sugar. We later discovered that I was correct.”
She claims that although working in a setting with hearing people is challenging, a supportive team makes it easy to cope.
“My team is genuinely very compassionate. In the kitchen, my crew would tap on my shoulder, write me notes, or turn on and off the lights to catch my attention. Each of them has a basic understanding of sign language, and we enjoy practising new signs together.”
MAZIBUKO
Mazibuko, who hails from Ladysmith was also born deaf.
The 38-year-old completed the Ciro Barista course offered by the eDeaf Training Academy, before joining the ANEW Hilton Hotel near Pietermaritzburg.
She uses a sign-language chart to interact with her clients and invites them to either point at the board or try signing for their warm beverage.
“My clients are a lot of fun! They learn to sign for their coffees, and when they return to our hotel, they tell me what they want without even looking at the menu board. They, along with my other coworkers, have been tremendously helpful in establishing a kind, welcoming environment while I try to learn sign language,” she said.
“I developed a passion for coffee! Early on in my course, I understood that preparing coffee was a visual skill that I could pick up quickly. My hobby has evolved into creating beautiful works of coffee art. I get enormous satisfaction from watching my customers’ faces light up when they recognise my artistic flair.”
Mazibuko stresses that it’s crucial for deaf people to work in positions that are more visible, like baristas, and engage with the public frequently.
“Our interactions help to lessen the social stigma, which helps people comprehend people with impairments. In order to aid those I work with and my clients, as well as the deaf population in this country. I would really like to pursue training to become a sign language instructor.
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