MARISA IS MISS DEAF SOUTH AFRICA FINALIST 2019

“I heard sounds for the first time at the age of 17. It was a life-changing experience to be fully introduced to the world of sounds.”

So said Gardens resident, Marisa Smit, who has been selected as a Miss Deaf SA 2019 finalist.

Ms Smit was born with a hearing loss of more than 140 decibels and was diagnosed as deaf at the age of 14 months. At this tender age, she said she wore hearing aids but they could only amplify vowels and not consonants, particularly the high-frequency consonants s,t,* and f.

“I cried when I heard my own voice for the first time. The clock’s tick-tock, waves on the beach, the wind in my hair, a crackling fire, to the little birds singing in the tree in front of my house. Everything has a voice! What a wonderful world. I invested all my pocket money to hear new sounds,” she said.

The big day was June 9 2005 – three weeks after having a cochlear implant at Tygerberg Hospital.

This has resulted in her starting her own campaign called “Catch Sounds”. The campaign aims to raise funds to provide batteries for hearing aid and cochlea implants for every deaf child in need in South Africa.

“There are rechargeable batteries available at R4 000 and portable, disposable batteries at R60 for one package with a life of about five days. Every child deserves to hear
and without batteries, aids and implants, they cannot catch sounds,” she said.

She said she entered Miss Deaf SA once again this year because she aims to make a difference in people’s lives. “This is my true passion in life, to inspire, give hope and serve the community,” she said.

Ms Smit said she believes she has what it takes to win the title.

“To be crowned Miss Deaf SA, one must be confident, she must have a passion for the community not only for the deaf community, also for the whole country. She must have a fire in her heart and light that fire to the world,” she said.

Ms Smit is currently working on her first children’s book. She said teachers at deaf schools have told her that it is impossible to teach pupils without hearing devices.

“I want to be an example to deaf teens, and show them that it is okay to wear something behind your ears. The person I am developed from my understanding of the world around me with the help of my aids and implants,” she said.

You can follow Ms Smit’s journey on her Facebook page: Marisa Smit-Miss Deaf South Africa Finalist 2019 and vote for her to win the Public Choice Awards by SMSing “MDS 04” to 47439. The SMSes are charged at R3 an SMS.

https://www.atlanticsun.co.za/news/marisa-is-miss-deaf-sa-finalist-23829706

Comments

ABOUT ME - Pilates Instructor and Miss Deaf South Africa

I was diagnosed as profoundly deaf when I turned 14 months old. It was the late 80's and the ENT specialist told my mom, that I was the deafest person (according to my brainstem audiogram) to be diagnosed. According to doctors and experts, I would never talk. I had a hearing loss of 145 decibels, which means that a Boeing 747 could land behind me, and I would not notice! My mother, Annemarie, resigned from her job as a music teacher and enrolled in a course in Audiology, to reach a language to express myself. Deaf people are immensely frustrated because they have no names for their emotions. My mom used a mirror to show me my anger, happiness, fear, love, etc and taught me words for it these for the first of 4 years of my life, every experience was a language lesson and not an even a picnic or a day at the beach was only an outing, anymore. There were so many words! At this stage, I was wearing Phonak Hearing Swiss which enabled me to hear vowels, but no consonants, amplifie...

What to do when Deaf people feel left out in a crowded room. Here are 5 tips.

*** In my experience as a profoundly deaf teenager in a mainstream school, for the first time, I must confess that it was very challenging. I wasn't used to a crowded classroom. At Deaf schools, you have 5 or 6 classmates but in the mainstream, 30 or 35. On my first day at Jan Van Riebeeck Primary school in Cape Town, I was excited to try this new challenge at the mainstream school. Suddenly I had 11 new friends and we were always together. During intervals, w e sat together on the grass in a circle. A s a Deaf person, I felt left out most of the time because the conversations went on and on from different angles and person s . I became more silent and lonely. It was exhaust ing for me. I use my eyes for lip reading and felt totally ex hausted after breaks, trying to follow every word my friends spoke, to feel part of the group. After the break, it was back to the classroom and nonstop focusing on the teacher's lips until the end of ...

Best Tree House in Western Cape - Anna's Country Accommodation, Greyton

If you are looking for wonderfully unique, fantastically delightful, almost fairytale-like Greyton accommodation, escape to Anna's Country Accommodation. I always wanted to try a Tree-House. When I was on social media, I found a gorgeous old Victorian bath with jungle view pictures on Instagram. I knew immediately I had to try this place. I googled and found Anna’s Country Accommodation website. It is in Greyton, a 1 hour and 45 minutes drive away from Cape Town. I contacted her on WhatsApp and she sent me two gorgeous videos of the Tree Houses. Surprisingly there is a new Tree House that has been built during the Lockdown in South Africa last year - Tree House Loft. I booked the newly build Tree House Loft for three nights. It was a surprise vacation for my boyfriend, David. I planned this trip. He didn’t know where we were going. On the day it was pouring in Cape Town, I just put the GPS on so that David can follow the route. He followed the GPS route. We have never been to Greyt...

Marisa Smit

Search This Blog