Fun Fact: people with hearing impairments prefer to be called “deaf” or “hard of hearing.
What do you think a life of a deaf person is like? Silent? A world where everything is quiet? A world where you can’t hear and indulge in music? I thought the same thing until I met Lily Goh, a 39-year-old lady who is fun, bubbly and deaf.
The Beginning
A young Lily with her 2 brothers
Lily was born a normal baby. But her family found out she was deaf when she was only 2 years old. Her condition worsened gradually as the years went by. The cause of her disability was still unknown.
Lily’s disability gave her an isolated childhood. Having two older brothers who were much older than her (9 years and 7 years apart), her whole family had a hard time communicating with her. However, both brothers did put in a shared effort to find a solution for her communication issue. Her eldest brother communicated with her through fingerspelling, while her elder brother enforced the regular practice of speech at home (stricter of course). During family gatherings and festivities such as Chinese New Year, you will see Lily in a quiet corner while her cousins and relative enjoy the company of each other.
Primary School
Then came the time for Primary school for Lily, which was like heaven. She went to Canossian School. A special school for children with hearing loss. Canossian School made Lily felt normal as all her classmates, who were deaf, was also going through the same challenges as her.
Lily participated in swimming and was in the percussion band as part of her Extra Curricular Activity (ECA). Yes, the school that teaches children with hearing loss has percussion band as an ECA and they were good at it. She was a Gold Star swimmer, a talented percussionist and also a class prefect. As good as it was, primary school education also came with its challenges.
Students were encouraged to rely on lip reading and speaking instead of using sign language after the age of 10, due to the language policy set by the school committee. This was a challenge for students who were deaf as hearing is essential for speech development. Students got punished and fined 50 cents for using sign language, instead of speaking. They even had spelling tests where students will need to lip read to spell the word. But Lily was lucky to be taught how to speak at an early age despite not being able to hear, by her second brother and was ahead of others in her class. Thus, Lily was one of the best in her school and was picked to speak when visitors arrive at the school by using sign language, instead of speaking.
p.s. By the way, Lily is still in touch with her primary school friends.
Lily swimming in primary school
Secondary School
Lily did not enjoy her Secondary school as much. She went to St. Anthony’s Canossian Secondary School and was in a class of peers who majority, did not have difficulty in hearing. That was where her struggle started. There were only 9 students in her school that were deaf, who sould not intaract much with the rest. Leaving them to often isolated. They relied on lipreading only. Cause, at that time they were not aware of their needs like having a sign language interpreter or a note-taker.
Lily in Ausralia performing her solo songfeel
Lily joined the percussion and concert band as her ECA. This time she felt more competition as her peers had perfect hearing. Despite this, she was chosen to go to Australia to perform her solo song. ECA played a major part in her secondary school life as she enjoyed playing music. She did not have many friends in school, due to communication issues. This led her to give a helping hand to teachers and leaders, forming close bonds with them.
Lily’s secondary school life became better when she went to a camp organised by Outward Bound Singapore(OBS). Participants were separated in groups, where Lily was grouped with a few others who were able to hear. This displayed unhappiness to the others as they felt like Lily would pull the team down (because of her hearing disability). Unbeknown to them, Lily came out as one of the greatest asset in the team to solve obstacles and challenges. Her team did much better than others who did not have any sensory disability. This gained her much respect from her peers and thus, life for Lily became much better when she was in Secondary 3 and 4.
Lily’s proudest memories in Secondary School life was her ECA, OBS and being top in class for mathematics.
Tertiary level
After graduation from secondary school, Lily took a diploma in Information Technology at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Ngee Ann was the only polytechnic that accepted students with hearing loss. They had 52 students with hearing loss when Lily was there. Currently, students who are deaf are accepted in all the polytechnics.
Lily was the second batch of HI! Club. HI! Club offers sign language courses to its members, enabling them to communicate and connect with the deaf and hard of hearing. They also engage in song signing activities. Song signing is singing a song using sign language instead of vocals. Lily made a lot of friends in HI! Club and it taught her about leadership and how to interact. Lily became the 3rd president of HI! Club and represented Singapore to take part in an event organised by World Federation of Deaf (WFDeaf). Through this event, Lily became more aware of the deaf needs. This includes the need for a note taker and an interpreter for the deaf.
Lily came back to Singapore and contributed to raising awareness about helping the deaf with their needs. This includes government support in providing the deaf with interpreters and note takers.
Song signing
Despite living with her own challenges, Lily was successful in making a difference to the deaf community in Singapore.
Kudos Lily!
Work life
However, one of the biggest challenges for those who are deaf in Singapore is finding a job. A study done by final year students at Nanyang Technological University found that only one in 10 employers surveyed have positive attitudes towards hiring deaf people.
Lily was no exception, despite her achievements and success, she had a hard time securing a job. To survive, she worked in Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and a printing shop part time and taught sign language, performed percussion and song singing on a freelance basis.
Lily(3rd from right) in Singapore Idol
Lily’s performing career exploded when she went to audition for Singapore Idol in 2004. She got eliminated after the third round. After Singapore Idol aired, her sales in performance grew.
Lily is currently the founder and the director of ExtraOrdinary Horizons (EO Horizons). EO Horizons is an enterprise run by the Deaf with its vision to create an inclusive society where the disadvantaged attain confidence in their own abilities. They aim to promote deaf awareness through sign language courses, workshops, interpretation/translation services and performances. EO Horizons also aims to help Deaf better integrate into mainstream society and to be accepted for who they are.
Lily’s wonders
Despite the challenges faced of being hearing impaired, Lily puts in her best in what she does. She has also honed her skills as a performer, entertaining her audience and made a difference to the Deaf community in Singapore by raising awareness of their needs. Rejection from jobs due to her condition has led her to find her own company, ExtraOrdinary Horizons ( do click on the link to find out more). A platform to teach sign language and continued raising of awareness and helping the deaf community. She has also stepped out of her comfort zone by joining Singapore idol and further improving her performance skills.
How many of us despite not having the challenges Lily has, have not pursued our best? How many of us are still afraid to step out of our comfort zone to achieve what we want? What are the excuses we give ourselves, or that are stopping us from pursuing our dreams? Let Lily be an example that despite the challenges we face, there is always a way to pursue your goals.
Lily’s Message to the world:
