National Institute for the Deaf (Pty) Ltd



National Institute for the Deaf (Pty) Ltd

National Institute for the Deaf (Pty) Ltd was founded in 1881 as the Doofstommen Institute. The establishment of the Institute was an answer to a shared dilemma faced by two reverends of the Dutch Reformed Church. Both had Deaf congregants, but no idea how to serve them with the Word of God because they couldn’t communicate with them. The Institute was thus established to help Deaf people read and write so that they could read the Bible and also have access to the same rights as the hearing.

Some 135 years after the Doofstommen Instituut opened its doors, having seen many changes in its own history and that of the country it serves, NID has become a private, dynamic, innovative non-profit company.

NID serves persons with hearing loss from all across South Africa and Africa. Our beneficiaries are unique individuals with varying cultural and social backgrounds.



Persons with hearing loss are a diverse group with the following distinct groups:

  • Pre-lingual (before acquisition of language: These persons see themselves mainly as a linguistic and cultural minority group. They use the capital letter D to indicate Deaf, referring to persons whose primary communication medium is Sign Language and who feel at home in a Deaf culture.
  • Post-lingual (after acquisition of language): Persons who experience different degrees of hearing loss later in life.Deaf-blind: Persons with both sight disability and hearing loss. Deaf-blindness is seen as a disability separate form deafness and blindness.

They are served by an exceptional team of specialised training, care and operational staff members. These people have a passion for helping each of the beneficiaries unlock their full potential and live a life of abundance.



National Institute for the Deaf (Pty) Ltd Contacts

PHYSICAL ADDRESS:

30 De la Bat Road
Worcester 6850
South Africa

POSTAL ADRESS:

PO Box 941
Worcester
6849
South Africa

TEL : +27 (0)23 342 5555

FAX : +27 (0)23 342 8866