WYD videos: Testimony of young Deaf Australian woman

You can find videos of all the WYD events, including those that took place in other parts of Australia before WYD proper, here.

Since I work with Deaf people to some extent here in the Philippines and celebrate Mass in Sign Language from time to time, I found the testimony of a young Deaf Australian woman very encouraging. It's about 8:50 minutes into EVENING VIGIL PART 2.

Profoundly Deaf people often describe themselves as the Deaf, with a capital 'D', to identify themselves as a group. They do not describe themselves as 'hard of hearing'. My understanding of that term is what happens to many of us as we get older - our hearing is not as good as it used to be. If we wear glasses we don't describe ourselves as 'blind'. A person who cannot see is blind, not 'hard of seeing'. A person who cannot hear, or has very little hearing, is deaf.

That's the flag of the Philippines on the right.

Photos are copyright WYD 2008 but are among those that may be used by people like me.