South African Sign Language - 12th Official Language

I have a had a mild hearing problem most of my life which has got worse with age. This has also been further complicated by tinnitus.
I have over the years had many friends in the deaf community (with varying severity of deafness) and have learned the basics of Sign English and a smattering of ISL. I have seen the problems they have to cope with in every day life, from attending schools far from home, having to write exams in a language not their first language, being marked down when they battle to express themselves in a way that the hearing marker accepts, battling to get and sucessfully pass an interview for a job, being marginalised by their co-worker and boss if they do manage to find work, stuggling to sort out problems with utility services etc as the staff don't understand them. Even everyday shopping is frustrating when you cannot ask the staff for what you want or request assistance. The list goes on and on.  
So this is a cause very near and dear to my heart.