Author Archive Admin

We would like to inform you that the following officers of the Executive Council of the Singapore Association for the Deaf shall be elected at the 62nd Annual General Meeting on Saturday, 23rd September 2017 at 3.00pm:

• President
• Vice-President (4 Positions)
• Honorary Secretary
• Honorary Assistant Secretary
• Honorary Treasurer
• Honorary Assistant Treasurer
• Council Member (10 Positions)

We have enclosed a nomination form and a self-addressed envelope for your use if you wish to nominate suitable candidate(s) for the above-mentioned position(s). Nomination by members must be made in the prescribed Nomination Form. Original nomination forms must reach the Honorary Secretary, not later than 31st July 2017.

All nominations must be proposed and seconded by Ordinary and Life members of the Association. Nominated members must also give their written consent to stand for election, as well as fill in the attached ‘’Declaration of Eligibility for Executive Council Membership’’ form.

All nomination submissions must be made either by hand or by post to the Honorary Secretary at the registered address of the Singapore Association for the Deaf. Any submissions by email or fax will not be accepted.

All members nominated to stand for election must be present at the Annual General Meeting held on Saturday, 23rd September 2017. Should a nominated member be unable to attend, a written letter of acceptance to be nominated must be given to the Honorary Secretary before the Annual General Meeting.

Yours sincerely,

Wong Ee Kean
Honorary Secretary

By order of the Executive Council

Wong Ee Kean

Honorary Secretary

2) What has SADeaf heard from members of the deaf community with regard to finding employment? Has there been a shift in feedback over the past few years?

We find that society as a whole has been more encouraging and inclusive. However, we should still recognise that there are still challenges posed to the Deaf and Hard-of-hearing, or for that matter, anyone with some form of disability, to compete with the hearing peers with similar qualifications. Therefore, it does require certain understanding from the employers to be willing to make minor adjustments to the job requirements to engage the deaf employee in alternative ways which can be easily overcome with the advent of technology such as via email, sms or Skype messaging instead of phone calls as a means of communication in the workplace.

In addition, many felt that they are able to demonstrate the same zeal and enthusiasm as the hearing if given equal opportunity to upgrade themselves through training.

3) What more do you think can be done to help perceptions change? What is currently being done?

The Deaf & Hard-of-hearing individuals have been employed in a diverse range of jobs such as admin, creative (design, media etc), accounting, engineering, IT etc. They are able to take on any job based on their education level or work experience, except those which require them to handle phone call.

Some of these successful deaf individuals include:

Deaf doctor – Dr Joseph Heng (TODAY – 1 March 2017)

Mr Teo Bee Chuan (Visual Merchandising Artist) – Mediacorp Channel 8 “Frontline” Programme – 15 July 2016

Deaf pianist Dr Azariah Tan – 16 Oct 2016, The Straits Times

Ms Lisa Loh (Accounts Administrator Assistant) & Philip Choy (Systems Administrator) – Shared via SADeaf’s Facebook

We have also recently soft piloted our job support with job matching service in January 2017. And, it’s heartening to share that through our contacts with prospective employers in the recent months, many are receptive and willing to offer equal job opportunity to our Deaf & Hard-of-hearing community. We are also collaborating with prospective employers to conduct workshops on understanding deafness and improving communication in the workplace with the deaf.