South African Sign Language (SASL) is South Africa’s 12th official language.
Yet Deaf children in South Africa face steep barriers to language learning: most are born to hearing parents who don’t sign, and limited stories are available in SASL. By the time they reach school, many have almost no language foundation.
“Communication access isn’t there – they’re deprived of language,” says Vanessa Reyneke, the project coordinator at Handlab. This communication gap can also make it harder for parents to bond with their children.
Through its partnership with Book Dash, Handlab – a curriculum material development project at Stellenbosch University – is working to turn that around: it is translating the full Book Dash library of 221+ books into SASL.
This takes longer than translating into a written language, explains Reyneke. SASL is a visual language, so the Handlab translations are filmed. “We can’t just edit out signs. When we do a full story, we do it in one go, and if anything needs to be redone we do it from the beginning again.”
It also requires awareness of how Deaf children learn and make sense of the world. For example, children’s books often use illustrations to expand the storyline by showing things that are not written, but it helps Deaf children’s understanding, learning and vocabulary acquisition when the story echoes the images.
It’s important to think visually, says Ayesha Ramjugernath, who works on quality control at Handlab. “Many children’s books are built around sounds — “splash,” “slosh,” “boom!” — but Deaf children experience the world through movement, rhythm, and expression. We have to find visual equivalents for those ideas.”
Ramjugernath had the opportunity to do this firsthand at Book Dash’s signature book-making event in September 2025. In just 12 hours, a Handlab team created a brand-new story – this time, one that originated in SASL.
As the book’s author, Ramjugernath says, it was “freeing and empowering” to create a book from a Deaf perspective. “Usually, books are based on hearing experiences, sound, spoken language, and hearing world concepts,” she says. “But this time, I didn’t have to ‘translate’ – I just signed naturally, the way I would tell a story to my own child. The English writers had to find the right words to match the richness of our signs!”
The result was Mom’s Hands, a tender story about a child and her Deaf mother inspired by author Ramjugernath’s own childhood. “My mother used her hands to create stories that came alive through movement, facial expression, and love,” says Ramjugernath. “I imagined Deaf children who might have hearing parents who don’t know how to sign, and how much they miss out on that same connection I had with my mom.”
Ramjugernath believes the story will resonate with Deaf and hearing audiences alike. “For Deaf children, it’s a reflection of their world,” she says. “For hearing parents, it’s a gentle invitation: you can connect with your Deaf child through simple signs. It’s not about perfect language, but about shared love and visual communication.”
Book Dash adapted its book creation model – including interpreters and a video editor, adjusting workflows, and even placing the Handlab team near a speaker so Deaf members could feel the music and the party vibes.
The fast-paced event was intense, says Lenka Knoetze, who illustrated the story, but ultimately rewarding. “You realise there are deep wells of ability you never knew you had,” she says. “What stood out is how cherished everyone felt. You left feeling like a hero.”
Adding SASL stories, including Mom’s Hands, to the Book Dash catalogue is not just about supporting Deaf children’s language development. It helps hearing parents learn sign language; creates opportunities for Deaf creatives; exposes Deaf children to signers from different regions; and allows Deaf children to see themselves represented, says Ramjugernath.
“This model works,” she says. “Hopefully people will copy it in other countries in their own sign languages.”
