In a carnival held on 1 October at the Enabling Village, a community space in Lengkok Bahru, Ms Lily Goh used sign language to perform a song. Her body movements and facial expressions also conveyed emotions as she performed alongside singer Vivienne Wong and guitarists Jaffar Sidek and Feng Lee. Together, they epitomise the inclusive community being aspired at the Story Carnival on 2 September.
It is also her life’s work, for Ms Goh, 38, is the founder of ExtraOrdinary Horizons (EOHorizons), a social enterprise that seeks to integrate the deaf community with mainstream society. The six-year-old enterprise offers song-signing performances, sign language services and workshops, and also sells handicrafts made by deaf people.
Ms Goh, who lost most of her hearing at the age of two, discovered song-signing herself while she was studying Information Technology at Ngee Ann Polytechnic in 1998. She could already play the xylophone and marimba, which she began learning at the age of 10 and has a Grade 8 certification from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.
She plays by reading the music score and sensing vibrations that emanate from the instrument. She also makes use of a hearing aid to keep in time with the other musicians. When she is learning a new song to sign, however, Ms Goh works with a hearing person who provides her with cues to keep the tempo. After several practices, she is able to song-sign on her own.
“Music can be appreciated by many, but the deaf can feel, see and express music with our hands,” said Ms Goh, who has performed at various events, including an arts festival in Cambodia featuring a diverse range of artists with disabilities.
She does not just sing other people’s songs. For the performance on 2 September, she signed the song “If You Were In My Shoes”, which she co-wrote with musician and composer Audris Ho.The song made it to the semi-finals of the 2015 UK Songwriting Contest in the music video category.
It is her wish that the public would look beyond disabilities and instead seek to know people for who they really are. “It’s about being able to understand you for the person inside and not just as a person with a disability.”
Watch the song-signing performance of “If You Were In My Shoes” below:
Read more here.
Source: The Straits Times, 5 October 2017