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Introduction: Lionel Smith, former president of New Life Deaf Club in Barbados
Image description: Video screen shows logo for the New Life Deaf Club. Then it shows a large red building, with a caption saying “Barbados Council for the Disabled”. Then the screen shows text saying “Lionel N. Smith (Mr.), Former President (2013-2018) of New Life Deaf Club/Deaf Barbados Inc.” Next, we see two men seated in front of a computer monitor. The man to the left is Lionel Smith. Meanwhile, the other man is a reporter from Broad Street Media.
[Further image descriptions will be throughout the transcript where relevant, inside square brackets [ ]. Meanwhile, transcript of what people say in the video will be inside quotation marks ” “.]
Transcript: [Broad Street Media reporter speaks first, in Barbados Sign Language, to the camera] “Welcome to our interview with the former president of Deaf Barbados.” [Reporter signs to Lionel Smith] “Tell me your name!”
Lionel Smith: “Hello, my name is Lionel Smith. I was president of NLDC, New Life Deaf Club.”
Reporter: “Nice to meet you!”
Lionel Smith: “Same!”
Reporter: “Ready for the interview?”
Lionel Smith: “Go ahead!”
His involvement as president
Reporter: “Why did you get involved as the president?”
Lionel Smith: “When a friend of mine died, I promised because they wanted me to take over as president. I wanted to take over to support deaf people all over. Not only hearing people, but also deaf people, hard of hearing, and deafblind in general.”
Reporter: “So, everyone all together. So, how many years were you president?”
Lionel Smith: “About five years now.”
Challenges and persistence
Reporter: “Wow! Has it been easy, or have you faced many challenges?”
Lionel Smith: “There have been some challenges, yes. Working with the committee, not enough people, other challenges. But it doesn’t matter, we keep on going.”
Deaf community support for club will help themselves
Reporter: “Do you feel that you need support from the Deaf community as president and for the organization to develop?”
Lionel Smith: “Yes, and also Deaf people need to help themselves. Because if we go to the Deaf community and need them to be involved, and if they don’t want to be involved, we won’t succeed. They need to be involved for their own sake.”
History of the New Life Deaf Club
Reporter: “I agree with that point! So you were president for five years? How long have you chaired in the committee altogether?”
Lionel Smith: “Altogether, more than 20 years. The club was founded in the 1990s and I’ve been involved ever since.”
Reporter: “Wow, that’s nice!”
[Screen now shows a photo of Lionel Smith standing with three other people in an office. Then it shows a photo of laminated pages of a publication hung on a railing. A third photo shows Lionel Smith standing next to a podium, presenting in sign language. The next photo shows people seated in groups around tables signing with each other. After, we see a photo of Lionel Smith signing a poem to an audience. Two more images show news clippings that feature Lionel Smith. Another few photos show Christopher Sandrolini and others welcoming Lionel Smith as new president in 2013. A photo also shows Lionel Smith and an American interpreter signing to each other at an Interpreter’s Rights Workshop. Then we see a flag with a trident on it waving in the wind, and a logo for the 50th anniversary of Barbado’s independence as a country.]
The future for Barbados Deaf community
Lionel Smith [signs to camera]: “Hello, my name is Lionel Smith. I am president of the New Life Club. My vision for the next 50 years is for the Deaf community and hearing people to collaborate together.”
[Series of photos and news clips continue to show New Life Deaf Club activities from the past few years. ]
What clubs or organizations are important for the Deaf community in your country? In Barbados, one important club was formerly called the New Life Deaf Club. Watch an interview with Lionel Smith, who was president of the club from 2013 to 2018.
The video is in Barbados sign language. It has no captions. But a transcript in English is available. An online signing news show, Broad Street Media, produced this video in early 2018. Meanwhile, Broad Street Media produces media by and for Deaf people in Barbados. The video originally posted on their Facebook page. It is shared here with permission from Broad Street Media.
Meanwhile, the New Life Deaf Club is recently renamed to the Barbados Horizon Deaf Charity.
Also explore other resources about deaf people in the Caribbean region.
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