A Question of Culture?

It has been a couple weeks now since Sarah Churman's cochlear implant activation video went viral and there has been a wide spectrum of reactions. For those who have not seen it please click this link.

There are number of individuals in the deaf community who object to these implants on the basis that there is nothing wrong with being deaf and therefore, there is no need for this procedure. I think it's important for the hearing world to understand that the deaf community is a culture. Much like any culture they naturally want to retain their family ties by their common language and thus, they find it difficult to accept something that would take their entire culture into question. In a way, it appears like these procedures are an attack from the hearing majority on the deaf minority. I empathize with their feeling of the importance of community. If it were not for other hard of hearing individuals and the support that I received from them and their community I would probably still feel like a bit of an outsider. However, I do feel that an important factor in a community is respecting and supporting the individuals within it. I don't think that anyone can argue that Sarah is experiencing pure joy with her ability to hear her own voice, the voice of her husband and children all for the first time. It's vitally important to respect the wishes of an individual when it comes to making any large decision because I am sure that there is never any ill-intent towards any group when these decisions are made.

Here we go again

I wish I had a good excuse for not keeping up this blog however, I can't come up with anything better than life just got busy and it was the last thing on my mind. To that extent I figure you are all due for an update.

I'm happy to announce that I've accepted the position of Vice-President with the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association - Hamilton Branch. It is a volunteer position that lasts for a three year term. I'm excited for the challenges that it will present but excited because I can see that there is a change beginning to happen as some new blood is breathing new life into the organization. I've had some time to sit and think about what my goals will be as the new VP for my three year term and this is what I've come up with so far:

1. Attract young people to the group
2. Head up another fundraising effort
3. Overhaul all branding so there is one consistent and uniform look

I'm not too sure how I will reach these goals but I hope it all fall into place soon.

The second important update is that CHHA - Hamilton has officially launched our Dream Home Lottery. After a year of planning and AGCO approval we will be opening the house on October 13th. This will be a huge fundraiser for us and allow us to do a lot of things to help the hard of hearing community. Like any not-for-profit organization having funds to fulfill your mandate is always difficult to come by. I'm confident that this fundraiser will give us the financial freedom we require to make an impact in our community.

That about wraps up the update on my hard of hearing world. When I sit back and re-read this over I'm very proud of the things that have happened since my last blog in July and I'm looking forward to what the future will hold. It's going to be a whirlwind couple months but I'm looking forward to every bit of it.

Cheers.