Written by : Indira Sekarzeta
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“Our deaf friends need ‘access’ whenever they are,” claimed Helga Theressia Manullang enthusiastically.
The young woman, whose nickname is “H and mole” in sign language, was born in Jakarta on September 30th 1994. Helga used to be an assistant director in the Cameo project. Working on the youtube channel was what she did previously.
One day she watched Surya Sahetapy, the deaf activist from Indonesia, and President Jokowi’s vlog. Surya communicated in Indonesian sign language. “Sign language seems cool,” is the one impression that crossed her mind.
Suddenly, her life significantly changed as she interviewed some deaf youngsters for her video project in 2017. She met a deaf man who revealed that, “It is very hard for us, the deaf people, to understand the sermon and songs in church. We barely could hear them”.
Then, she drew some conclusions about her friend’s thoughts. Helga aspires to be the one whom her deaf friend’ wish could be there.
A sign language interpreter.
She does not want the deaf community to feel left out. This woman knew right away that she wanted to be the change the world wished could see.
After her unforeseen encounter with the deaf community, her life has never been the same.
She mentioned that she did not expect all the big things awaited her.
“Everyone has their own callings and so I have mine,” she stated.
“For me, being a sign language interpreter is one of the ways to serve God,” she added.
All at once, she befriended people from the deaf community and learned Indonesian sign language from scratch. She voluntarily assisted Teater 7, a theatre group which intended for the deaf, to perform in Taman Ismail Marzuki even though it cost all of her time and energy.
This woman needed tofill her weekend routines with sign language classes and theatre rehearsals. Starting from the bottom, now she is considered professional.
As time went by, she realized that this disable community found a way to overcome her insecurities. “I see how my friends tried their hardest to become confident with their bodies.
There was one moment when I saw the deaf casts’ parents of Teater 7 hugged them with pride. Everyone seems to have their own imperfections yet they were the ones who taught me to be proud of who I am,” she said. Helga stated how these deaf people face discriminations in their daily lives. However, they know how to deal with self-esteem issues.
“After 4 years of roller coaster in this circle, I know that I do belong here. Deaf community needs people that they could trust. Even though helping them is not the easiest path that I chose, they built my dignity,” Helga claimed proudly. This young lady becomes one of the sign language interpreters in GKI Pondok Indah. She stated that it was really arduous at first but she conquered the obstacles in a nick of time.
Helga proved to us that we should open our eyes wider and lend our hands. There might be people who need us for help. Everyone has the ability to support others. She desires to meet other people who have the same aspirations as hers. If that happens one
day, then the deaf community would see a better future for them. “There should be an end of this discrimination. These deaf friends should be respected and given some access. They deserve to have a better life,” she concluded.