DeafSA, formerly known as the South African National Council for the Deaf (SANCD), was founded in 1929. and in 1995 the SANCD was transformed to a new democratically elected organization, Deaf Federation of South Africa (DeafSA) Ten years ago this national organization changed from an organization for the Deaf to one of the Deaf. The change in the constitution and attitude also meant that decisions about the services and affairs of the Deaf people were no longer taken by hearing people on behalf of deaf people, but by Deaf people themselves. At present 80% of the National Executive Committee of DeafSA are Deaf.
It is the intention of DeafSA to conduct itself according to the official vision of the organization and to adhere to its official Mission Statement which is clearly stipulated that DeafSA is to promote the interests of the Deaf and the hard of hearing effectively on a national level in South Africa. DeafSAs national constitution and activities are aimed at all people who are affected by hearing loss and speech impairment.
DeafSA is also the coordinating, umbrella organization that facilities services to the South African Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities. DeafSA currently has nine (9) Deaf Provincial Federations (DPFs) throughout South Africa which are recognized as NPOs each with their own constituency. The Deaf Federations in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and Western Cape has long benefit from the financial support from the National office. Other means of support are extended to the rest of the Deaf Provincial Federations.
The composition of the Quadrennial National Congress comprises a total of 39 representatives, viz:
| Federal government grant | 40% |
| Fundraising | 40% |
| Consultations/marketing | 10% |
| Miscellaneous | 5% |
| Investments | 5% |
| Full-time staff | 71 |
| Directors | 7 |
| Committees/Experts | 4 |
| Representatives | 39 |
| Office volunteers | 5 |
| Deaf federation Eastern Cape | 11 Affiliated Members |
| Deaf federation Free State | 10 Affiliated Members |
| Deaf federation Gauteng | 26 Affiliated Members |
| Deaf federation Kwa-Zulu Natal | 12 Affiliated Members |
| Deaf federation Mpumalanga | 12 Affiliated Members |
| Deaf federation Northern Cape | 2 Affiliated Members |
| Deaf federation Limpopo | 12 Affiliated Members |
| Deaf federation Northwest | 7 Affiliated Members |
| Deaf federation Western Cape | 27 Affiliated Members |
| South African Deaf Sport Federation | |
| Deaf-Blind South Africa | |
| Deaf Youth | |
| Deaf Women |
DeafSAs commitment as set in its Constitution.
DeafSA identified four key areas for policy decisions to be made which are based on the needs of Deaf people to have equal opportunities and to become fully developed individuals on equal footing with the rest of the community, i.e. hearing people:
| Four Focus areas as set in the Constitution of DeafSA | The following objectives form the basis towards which all DeafSAs activities are geared before the next Quadrennial meeting |
|---|---|
| South Africa Sign Language and Interpreting services |
- To proactively facilitate and successfully lobby for the acceptance, recognition of SASL as the 12th official language. - To proactively facilitate and successfully lobby for the acceptance, recognition, development and utilisation of Deaf culture |
| Education and Training | - To pro-actively facilitate and successfully lobby for the acceptance, recognition, development, utilisation and resources for SASL to be used as the medium of instruction of Deaf learners |
| Provincial Development |
- To lobby all public - and private sector structures, organisations, institutions, at national, provincial and local levels, in order to formulate and implement the policies that ensure that Deaf people at local, provincial and national levels have equal and universal access to all public- and private sector services - Continue the strengthening of management, leadership and staff capacity of DeafSA at both national and provincial levels - To continue appropriate development programmes and service infrastructure aimed at addressing the needs of Deaf youth, Deaf women, Deaf children and parents of Deaf persons in all the nine provinces,. - To continue implementing a plan for effective information flow |
| Early identification and intervention |
- To develop and implement strategies for the identification of Deaf people and intervention thereof to relevant role-players to make informed decisions on the individuals language acquisition and education - To implement a formal social auxiliary work training programme for Deaf learners and delivery of informal training, coordinating and implementing of life-skills and AIDS/HIV programmes |
DeafSA successfully participated in the training of Deaf people in Democracy Development and Voter Education Programme before the local elections. The Training on voter education was focused on the Deaf Community, with emphasis on Deaf Youth, Deaf Women in rural areas and the marginalised Deaf Community.