A trip to the House for Deaf Children
This weekend, as part of the CCD (Confraternity of the Christian Doctrine) curriculum, me and my class were sent to visit a House for Deaf People as part of our mission work. Due to morning tuitions that my brother had to attend to, we were late for the mission visit. However the children there were already so entertained by the work of the other members of the CCD class that it was as if they did not notice that my family was missing in the first place.One of the main issues I had with these people was the communication barrier. It was very hard to be able to communicate to them. I was thus quite happy over the fact that these children were fully literate, something that many people in Jakarta put in the same circumstances as them did not have the chance to do. If not for the fact they were literate, we would not have been able to communicate at all. This allowed us to make friends and encourage other shy members of the House to participate in the activity.
Take note that although they were deaf, this didn't mean that they couldn't speak. I was curious to find what sort of sounds deaf people would make. Some were only semi-deaf, and were only just able to make out coherent words from the dialogues that they were able to emulate from the world around them. Many of them unsurprisingly made sounds no different to that of a baby, as they tried their very best to speak with us. I sometimes wonder what it would not be like to hear; to not be able to hear the joy of music (although the modern ones nowadays do make me wish I was deaf) of Bach or Mozart, to not be able to hear the chirp of the birds (not that there are many in Jakarta) or the sound of your mother's voice (that is, if you had one. Orphans are not that uncommon in a country where teenage pregnancies are high). I hope that the teenagers of today do realise how important their hearing is and not blast music from their headphones every moment they have the chance. However I digress...
It was quite surprising to find that the activities utilised by our class were well thought to include their participation. This meant that their listening skills would not need to be required. Such games included pictionary and charades. It was unfortunate that due to my family's tardiness we were only able to spend two hours with these amazing people, who were so unacknowledged in a society like Jakarta. We lastly had lunch with these people and enjoyed a performance put up by the lot. What they couldn't express in words they did so excellently in body language, therefore managing to do a comedy in complete silence.
I left the House for Deaf Children, thankful of the ability to hear and hope that I have been able to touch the lives of those who have touched mine, in ways that their words could not express.
Have a blessed day,
Matthew Tan
Take note that although they were deaf, this didn't mean that they couldn't speak. I was curious to find what sort of sounds deaf people would make. Some were only semi-deaf, and were only just able to make out coherent words from the dialogues that they were able to emulate from the world around them. Many of them unsurprisingly made sounds no different to that of a baby, as they tried their very best to speak with us. I sometimes wonder what it would not be like to hear; to not be able to hear the joy of music (although the modern ones nowadays do make me wish I was deaf) of Bach or Mozart, to not be able to hear the chirp of the birds (not that there are many in Jakarta) or the sound of your mother's voice (that is, if you had one. Orphans are not that uncommon in a country where teenage pregnancies are high). I hope that the teenagers of today do realise how important their hearing is and not blast music from their headphones every moment they have the chance. However I digress...
It was quite surprising to find that the activities utilised by our class were well thought to include their participation. This meant that their listening skills would not need to be required. Such games included pictionary and charades. It was unfortunate that due to my family's tardiness we were only able to spend two hours with these amazing people, who were so unacknowledged in a society like Jakarta. We lastly had lunch with these people and enjoyed a performance put up by the lot. What they couldn't express in words they did so excellently in body language, therefore managing to do a comedy in complete silence.
I left the House for Deaf Children, thankful of the ability to hear and hope that I have been able to touch the lives of those who have touched mine, in ways that their words could not express.
It seems to me that you don't really have to be rich
to have friends, nor do you need a rich to be truly happy.
Have a blessed day,
Matthew Tan
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