An Award-Winning Deaf Advocate’s Journey To Promote Inclusivity In Singapore
By Vivian Goh
VIVIAN GOH delves into the life of Lily Goh, founder of ExtraOrdinary Horizons, and her journey as a deaf person living in Singapore.
“Have some determination and perseverance and don't let your deafness or disability hold you back,” says Lily Goh who graduated with a degree program in Sociology with Communication at Singapore University of Social Sciences in 2020. (Photo courtesy of Lily Goh)
For Lily Goh, 49, founder of ExtraOrdinary Horizons, being deaf since the age of 2 definitely was a challenge in her life, but that did not stop her from achieving her goal of wanting to be seen and heard in this world. At the age of 14, Lily discovered her interest in song-signing and started to pursue her interest
In 2004, Lily was the first-ever deaf participant that made it through two rounds in the local show ‘Singapore’s Idol’. Her interest in music then led to her performing at The Purple Parade with her bandmates and was living her best life. In 2007, she won her first-ever award during the Talent Development Programme by the Very Special Arts (Singapore) and in 2014, she won the Singapore Women Award. She fought for her dreams and did not let her deafness affect her.
“I do feel lonely, especially when I’m working with hearing people,” Lily says. “But I don’t see myself as different, I feel like I just use a different language.” Lily mostly uses sign language to speak at work, or at times just types out the things she wants to say with her mobile device.
“Today, most deaf people prefer free-lancer jobs and being their own bosses, such as being a makeup artist or nail salon artist,” says Daniel Yong, 27, a community interpreter at The Singapore Deaf Association For The Deaf (SADeaf).
Making the deaf feel included is not that difficult. “Something as simple as… pointing on a menu and signing basic words such as ‘Thank You’, that makes us feel really good and included,” Lily says.
Although technology has helped the deaf feel more included, according to Lily, only 20 per cent of deaf people feel included in society, whereas 80 per cent still feel isolated from the rest, hence more has to be done to break the barrier between both the deaf and society.
In February 2011, with her passion to be a voice for deaf people, Lily actually set up ExtraOrdinary Horizons, a place where the public was able to sign up for classes to learn sign language.
Lily conducting Basic Sign Language Communication Public Classes at ExtraOrdinary Horizons. (Photo courtesy of Lily Goh)
“I hope to have more sign language interpreters in society, and also promote relationships among hearing people,” Lily says.
“My oldest student that has joined in the past was actually 77 years old,” she recalls. Such basic sign language communication classes usually have about 20 students ranging from 14 to 75 years old. However, with the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic, such lessons have been shifted online and it has not been easy conducting physical classes due to the restrictions.
“I take private classes with my children as I want my kids to be able to know at least some basic sign languages and when they interact with deaf people, they would know how to react,” says Mr Goh Chang Yuan, 28, a student at ExtraOrdinary Horizons.
Compared to the past, there has been an improvement in terms of education and employment. “The number of deaf students has recently skyrocketed,” says Lily, “I think companies also do try to shift a little bit to match your skill level and are not focusing on a person’s ability to hear.”
Despite the improvements, Lily still gave a score of two on a scale of one to ten, in terms of the fairness in the education and employment aspect for the deaf in Singapore. “There are not a lot of available jobs for deaf people and Blue-collared jobs are still more available for deaf people,” she says, “Currently, polytechnics are still pretty much accepting (deaf) people but the number of deaf students is still very low.”
“Hearing people is still sort of like controlling the narrative,” Lily says. However, this does not mean that deaf people do not have the capability to achieve and fight for their dreams.
“Being deaf is not something that is bad. It's an identity, and through determination and perseverance, you'll be able to achieve your goals,” Lily says.