We Are ‘The Communicators’

Written by Alexis Lion.

The above video is produced by Singaporean of The Day, a project started by a group of friends to share short video clips of Singaporeans and their hopes and dreams for the country.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic, a tertiary education institution in Singapore, has a Hearing Impaired (Hi!) Club that aims to unite both hearing and non-hearing students with the motto, “Hear with your eyes and speak with your hands”. We often bound hearing-impaired individuals to certain societal expectations. We assume that they cannot speak, that they are not able to work in the same environment we are in or perform daily tasks as well as we can. Yet, do we know our non-hearing friends have an amazing ability to communicate, and may perhaps do it better than we do? The club raises awareness of the hearing-impaired culture in Singapore instead of confining them within a stereotype as lesser-abled individuals.

Some of the club’s members are involved in a local social enterprise, ExtraOrdinary Horizons, a percussion group for the deaf.

This song was a collaboration between ExtraOrdinary Horizons and Singapore indie band Black Forest. ExtraOrdinary Horizons has raised funds through their music so that they can bring their music to inspire deaf children in Cambodia. Talk about using our so-called limitations to bring hope and love to the less fortunate. They have set an example for all of us to imitate!

Our Better World shares stories to inspire good and is an initiative of Singapore International Foundation.