When Hands Speak Louder Than Words

When Hands Speak Louder Than Words

By: Melinda Tormes-Quiñones

Walking straight and erect, her lips forming a soft smile, she confidently approached the podium to deliver her graduation speech. Silence cloaked the crowd of almost a thousand guests and fellow graduates.

“How will she do the speech?” Romeo Catap, her good friend, overheard the comment from the back corner of the convention hall.

Ana Kristina Macasaet Arce, the first Deaf student to graduate magna cum laude from the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), smiled and let her hands do the talking. Delving into the biblical potter and the clay story in Jeremiah 18, Ana used a metaphor on the importance of hands to the Deaf as they interact with others.

“In pottery, the potter places a mold of clay on a table and turns it around carefully,” Anna gestured. “Using his hands, the potter will repeat the process several times until he gets the perfect shape. Likewise, the Deaf students’ primary source of communication is their hands. The Deaf talk and express themselves through hands. Just like the potter, we also hope to get the best, if not perfect, performance for ourselves using our hands. With our hands, we can go places, change lives and make a difference."

Ana, who was born Deaf, brought the house down. “As she ended her speech, I saw some parents teary-eyed and the members of the audience waved their hands to do a Deaf clap,” shared Romeo, who was documenting Ana’s speech with a video camera.

For Ana, graduating from college is just a beginning of her active participation in Deaf advocacy. She is committed to stepping up to the fore and bridging the gap between the Deaf and the hearing community. “She’s a person with a passion for excellence,” says Ana’s mom, Vilma, who believes that her daughter can fulfill whatever she takes upon herself.

By means of a Filipino sign language and help of Romeo, an interpreter-friend, Ana shared to H&H her aspirations to raise the level of appreciation and understanding of people about the Deaf and their community that struggles to belong.

Read the rest of the story in Health and Home's Official Website.

Melinda Tormes-Quiñones, Information Officer III (PMD) of Philippine Information Agency, holds office at PIA BLDG. in Visayas Avenue, Quezon City.