I first joined The Singapore Association for the Deaf (SADeaf) as a volunteer in 2005, helping with a series of Public Education projects, which were mainly deaf awareness talks and activities at National Library branches.
My interest in helping the deaf community stems from my life journey as a person with hearing loss. From the age of 3 or 5, after a bout of mumps and high fever, I started losing hearing in my right ear. This was followed by the hearing in my left ear as a teenager. By the time I was doing my undergraduate studies at Nanyang Technological University, I had to rely on a hearing aid for all my waking hours.
Faced with multi-faceted challenges at various stages in life, I learned lessons which I felt would be good to share with the deaf community so as to enable others in similar situations to integrate more effectively with a predominantly hearing society.
In Apr 2006, I gave a presentation at a forum organized by Mount Elizabeth Hospital, which was targeted at parents of children with hearing loss. My presentation was based on the theme "Deaf does not mean less", where I shared my life story coping with hearing loss from young.
Later, together with a team of hearing and deaf persons passionate about helping the deaf community, we started the Deaf-initely Boleh! campaign under the Public Education wing of SADeaf.
This campaign was built upon the earlier theme of "Deaf does not mean less" and was aimed at transforming the landscape for the deaf community, to help them integrate more effectively into society at all levels. Besides a website, online forum and blog containing helpful,up-to-date resources for the deaf and their families, several projects were launched to proactively reach out to the deaf and the public.
Two major projects were the Deaf-initely Boleh! Carnival in 2006 and the Deaf-initely No Excuses Run in 2007.
The 2-day carnival was a collaboration with the National Library Board, hospitals, hearing services providers and supporters of SADeaf. It featured talks, workshops, presentations and testimonies aimed at creating greater awareness of the help and options available for the deaf community. This inaugural event garnered positive feedback from deaf persons as well as their families and friends.
The Deaf-initely No Excuses Run , was organised in conjunction with the annual Army Half-Marathon, also known as the Sheares Bridge Run. It aimed to create greater awareness of the employment challenges faced by the deaf community in Singapore, and to broaden employment opportunities for them. The central message of this event was that there are no excuses not to employ or engage the deaf, as long as they have the ability to excel in the workplace.
I am grateful for the opportunities to serve through the Deaf-initely Boleh! campaign as well as other projects. I have been tremendously blessed by the friendships and ties forged as a result of the selfless teamwork, dedication and grit demonstrated by my fellow volunteers, staff of SADeaf and new friends found through these events and beyond. I have also discovered more of myself, and benefited from the experiences of others coping with deafness at various stages in life.
Personally, I have no regrets living life this way. Though I sometimes do wonder what life would be like without this disability, I thank GOD for showing me the road less travelled, for helping me appreciate more with less, and for blessing me with true love and friendship from the small social circle that I have. Indeed, deaf does not mean less, and this has now become a fitful addition to my personal motto of "making a difference". We can leave a meaningful, if not lasting, impact and legacy in the community where we live and serve, disabilities notwithstanding. In a world that emphasizes on perfection and outer beauty, where fleeting faces come and go and names are quickly forgotten, it is often in living and struggling with imperfection that one finds true friendship, love, and a character that endures.
Thomas
About the author:
Thomas has been married to Veronica, his lovely and supportive wife, for 14 years. They have 3 wonderful children - Deborah, Rachel and Grace. The family worships at Calvary Assembly of GOD church where both Thomas and Veronica are Sunday School teachers. Thomas presently works at a non-profit organization where he is head of information technology. He maintains a blog at http://cyberfellowship.blogspot.com, where he shares issues concerning his faith as a Christian, struggles with hearing loss, and various challenges in life as a working adult and family man. You can also find him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/twhtan or Facebook at http://facebook.com/weehuang. Thomas desires to see greater opportunities for deaf persons in school and at work, and hopes to continue to advocate that wherever and whenever possible.
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