Joanette Ngwenya walked away with a Special Award in the category of Robotics and Intelligent Machines, recognizing the outstanding performance of her project at the recently held Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Dallas, USA.
Ngwenya, a student at Dominican Convent in Bulawayo and a member of the Sciency STEM Club founded by Nkosana Masuku showcased her groundbreaking sign language interpreter. She says she was inspired to develop the program by the fact that most able-hearing people have no interest in Sign Language.
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| Joanette presents her project at ISEF |
Ngwenya's sign language interpreter with a built-in translator has the potential to improve communication between hearing-impaired and able-hearing communities.
A major element possibly missing in the education system of the hearing impaired in Zimbabwe, is a more widespread acceptance and use of deaf culture in schools. The marked difference between the total population of hearing individuals and the number of hearing impaired individuals is significantly large, giving the effect that many hearing persons may have a very little chance of having an encounter with a hearing impaired individual, making the hearing person find learning sign language not particularly in their interests or find it as something not so crucial to gain skill in. - Joanette Ngwenya to The Chronicle
Every year a delegation of Zimbabwe's most promising young scientists and engineers in high school is selected by the Zimbabwe Science Fair to represent the country in Regeneron ISEF (International Science and Engineering Fair) -- the biggest pre-university science competition worldwide.
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Joanette Ngwenya was honoured by the Mawhiba Foundation for her project which introduces a new and effective method of allowing communication between deaf and hearing communities that is permanent, efficient and mostly accurate. The award is a full university scholarship and $400 cash.
Regeneron ISEF brings together over 1,800 high school students from 75 countries to exhibit and demonstrate ingenuity and innovation through science projects of their own design. The young scientists and engineers compete for over US$5 million in cash awards and scholarships.
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