By CHOW HOW BAN

T HE 140 participants of YMCA International Deaf Camp's 30th anniversary may be from different parts of the world and were of varying races and ages, but for the HH Camp's 30th anniversary, currently being held in Malaysia, they have come together as one. 

They get to make new friends and play together while boosting their self-confidence through positive interaction and encouragement from each other.  

Children from special homes were invited to take part in the telematch.

Racial and cultural barriers pose no problems. Sign language is, after all, universal. 

Throughout the eight-day event, which carries the theme “Be One,” the participants from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, India, Singapore and the Philippines will visit Kuala Lumpur, Cameron Highlands and Penang. 

They took part in a sports carnival at the YMCA Kuala Lumpur sports complex and hostel in Brickfields on Sunday. For the next few days, the youngsters will take part in an art festival, a barbeque fiesta and talent and fruit eating competitions as well as other fun games in the cactus farm and tea plantation in Cameron Highlands.  

Thus far, the participants have tasted Malaysia's city life while staying at the YMCA hostel. They will be in Cameron Highlands today and leave for Penang tomorrow. The camp will end on Thursday with a symbolic closing ceremony and a handover of the YMCA flag to the next host country. 

At Sunday's sports carnival, the participants had a fun time taking part in activities such as a street soccer, a volleyball match, tug-of-war and a telematch. 

Fatema Bhindarwala, 21, from India, said she was pleased to be part of the entourage as there were no such camps for the deaf in her country. 

“It (the camp) is good and I enjoyed myself,” she said. “I learned about other people's culture and saw a lot of deaf people socialising in sign language and talking about their countries and cultures,” she said through an interpreter and Sanskaradham School for Hearing Impaired (Bombay, India) principal Lata Nayak. 

Aki Norita, who is in her 30s and is from Japan, said she came to know about the camp from a friend and via the Internet.  

“I searched for more information about the camp and was enthralled by how exciting the camps were. I wanted to be part of it or I would have thrown away a good opportunity,” she said through interpreters, Miyuki Nakagawa and Samuel Chew. 

She said she had become more open-minded after learning about the diverse cultures that existed among the deaf community. 

“When I was back home, I did not feel that I had an identity,” she said. “After taking part in the camp, I have discovered that I have one and am proud of it. 

“When I return to Japan, I will no longer view myself as inferior to others.” 

Aki said, besides enriching herself personally, she also got to meet people from different cultural backgrounds, “We acknowledge that, at the end of the day, we are all one,” she said.  

Koo Lee Imm, from Kuala Lumpur, said she enjoyed the camp as it fostered fellowship among her deaf counterparts and had also picked up other sign languages from different countries. 

She hopes to polish up on her leadership, organisational and sign language skills and become a camp leader at future HH Camps. 

The tug-of-war had the participants screaming themselves hoarse.

“I want to gain more experience and have an insight into the running of the camp,” she said. “This year's HH Camp is also significant as it coincides with YMCA International's 100th anniversary celebrations.” 

The organising committee and YMCA members from the participating countries are pleased to know that more deaf participants wanted to take on more responsibilities at the camp. 

“The camp is excellent,” said Nayak. “This is a rare opportunity for the children to learn different cultures and the best thing is that despite the differences, they know that they are one.” 

The HH Camp was first held in Hong Kong in 1975 with the participation of 24 people from the host country and Japan. Since then, the event has been taken to Japan, South Korea, Port Dickson, Penang, Australia, Canada, Thailand and Taiwan. 

The aim of the camp is to bridge the gap between the deaf and normal people, promoting international sharing and understanding through living and working together. It is also a chance for them to network, foster fellowship and go through cultural exchanges besides developing self-esteem, self reliance and self-confidence among the deaf.