KUCHING — On 10 August, the Chinese Sunday school which is under the Bible and Faith Formation ministry of Blessed Sacrament Church, organised a 2-hour visit to the Sarawak Society for the Deaf (SSD). There were about 77 participants including facilitators, students and parents.
The event aimed to increase awareness of their students, parents and teachers of the culture, life and language of the deaf community and to inculcate in them a caring and respectful attitude towards everyone they meet, especially those from different backgrounds.
The event commenced with an introduction by SSD Manager, Ernest Ting assisted by his translator Joanna Wong, and was followed by a talk on Deaf Awareness. From the talk, participants were able to get a better understanding of the needs of their deaf brothers and sisters, and also learnt how to communicate effectively with them.
There were quiz and Q & A sessions after the awareness talk. Ernest then taught the participants some basic sign language. They were excited and eagerly learnt the sign language of alphabets and numbers. They then took some group photos with the SSD staff for remembrance.
The Chinese Sunday school treasurer, Irence Kuek then presented a token donated by parents to the SSD chairwoman, Wenderine Koo. Tokens of appreciation were also extended to each SSD staff. This was followed by tea break arranged by the Sunday school facilitators.
With a full stomach, participants nevertheless felt energetic to help the SSD community with some chores. The parents and youngsters helped with tending the vegetables garden and sweeping and moping the floor, while the senior students helped with the car washing service.
The group bid farewell to SSD feeling blessed, after having spent the morning meaningfully.
Maria Wong
