Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
Tutu... a man who knows how to make contact with the deaf - Opinion - News - Belfast Telegraph
Archbishop Tutu was presented with honorary degrees from both our universities during his recent visit to Belfast and is rightly esteemed and applauded for his untiring efforts to bring peace to divided communities and help downtrodden people around the world lead happier lives.
As part of his busy schedule, the Archbishop was invited to give a talk to leaders of various organisations at the new headquarters of Disability Action on the outskirts of Belfast and John Carberry, regional training officer with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), has been telling me how warm and approachable he was and how lovely it was to chat with him.
"I felt honoured and privileged to be introduced to such a famous man," says John. "But Tutu was so friendly and down to earth that it was a perfect delight just to be in his company. Without being in any way patronising, the Archbishop has that precious gift of being able to put himself in the other person's shoes and make us feel perfectly at home in his company.
"It was not just me - he had the same ability to overcome the communication barrier with all the other disabled people there. He is definitely one of the most inspiring people I have ever met."
John's work takes him all over Northern Ireland, giving talks on deaf awareness and training nurses and other professional people on the best way to communicate with the deaf and hard of hearing communities.
Sign language is one method, of course, and classes for this are popular, but it's a big world out there and not many people have the time or inclination to attend classes and spend years acquiring the necessary skills.
It would help enormously if the great mass of hearing folk gained some understanding on how to overcome the communication barrier by attending a few basic lessons on deaf awareness. Some wonderful people like Tutu have this ability in spades and need hardly any teaching. They will recognise right away that the word deaf has many different meanings and adapt themselves accordingly.
Professional interpreters are there when necessary and do a wonderful job, but the important thing is to look the deaf person full in the face and make them understand you want to make contact on a personal level - not chat with the interpreter. Hearing friends have told me that they often refrain from approaching deaf people in church or a shop because they are afraid of causing embarrassment - either to the deaf person or to themselves - by their inability to communicate.
This is natural and understandable, but deaf people are a small minority, often lonely, and would appreciate you making the first move.
It may take months or even years before friendship and empathy can be struck up, but keep at it - learn a few basic signs or finger spelling and be prepared to write things down when lip-reading fails. Tutu loves people - it's not just his huge personality that wins them over.
*Evelyn Allen died peaceably in her sleep on Tuesday morning after several years of declining health and her many friends gathered at Roselawn for the funeral service. She was in her 88th year and leaves a husband, George. Evelyn was one of the founder members of the Deaf Christian Fellowship when several deaf people gathered for Bible study in her old home on Fane Street in Belfast over 50 years ago and she never faltered in her faith and desire to spread the good news to others. Under pastors Riddall and Barritt, the fellowship grew and prospered and the gospel is still being preached from the little church on Beersbridge Road.
Archbishop Tutu was presented with honorary degrees from both our universities during his recent visit to Belfast and is rightly esteemed and applauded for his untiring efforts to bring peace to divided communities and help downtrodden people around the world lead happier lives.
As part of his busy schedule, the Archbishop was invited to give a talk to leaders of various organisations at the new headquarters of Disability Action on the outskirts of Belfast and John Carberry, regional training officer with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), has been telling me how warm and approachable he was and how lovely it was to chat with him.
"I felt honoured and privileged to be introduced to such a famous man," says John. "But Tutu was so friendly and down to earth that it was a perfect delight just to be in his company. Without being in any way patronising, the Archbishop has that precious gift of being able to put himself in the other person's shoes and make us feel perfectly at home in his company.
"It was not just me - he had the same ability to overcome the communication barrier with all the other disabled people there. He is definitely one of the most inspiring people I have ever met."
John's work takes him all over Northern Ireland, giving talks on deaf awareness and training nurses and other professional people on the best way to communicate with the deaf and hard of hearing communities.
Sign language is one method, of course, and classes for this are popular, but it's a big world out there and not many people have the time or inclination to attend classes and spend years acquiring the necessary skills.
It would help enormously if the great mass of hearing folk gained some understanding on how to overcome the communication barrier by attending a few basic lessons on deaf awareness. Some wonderful people like Tutu have this ability in spades and need hardly any teaching. They will recognise right away that the word deaf has many different meanings and adapt themselves accordingly.
Professional interpreters are there when necessary and do a wonderful job, but the important thing is to look the deaf person full in the face and make them understand you want to make contact on a personal level - not chat with the interpreter. Hearing friends have told me that they often refrain from approaching deaf people in church or a shop because they are afraid of causing embarrassment - either to the deaf person or to themselves - by their inability to communicate.
This is natural and understandable, but deaf people are a small minority, often lonely, and would appreciate you making the first move.
It may take months or even years before friendship and empathy can be struck up, but keep at it - learn a few basic signs or finger spelling and be prepared to write things down when lip-reading fails. Tutu loves people - it's not just his huge personality that wins them over.
*Evelyn Allen died peaceably in her sleep on Tuesday morning after several years of declining health and her many friends gathered at Roselawn for the funeral service. She was in her 88th year and leaves a husband, George. Evelyn was one of the founder members of the Deaf Christian Fellowship when several deaf people gathered for Bible study in her old home on Fane Street in Belfast over 50 years ago and she never faltered in her faith and desire to spread the good news to others. Under pastors Riddall and Barritt, the fellowship grew and prospered and the gospel is still being preached from the little church on Beersbridge Road.