"We talk with our hands"
A bioengineering undergraduate overcame her discomfort around a Deaf classmate and now leads a team that learns, plays and grows alongside Deaf youth
by Derek Rodriguez
Back in junior college, Deandra Limandibhrata didn’t know how to talk to her hearing-impaired classmate. Every conversation felt like a dead end. Eventually, she just stopped trying.
“I didn’t always understand what she was saying. After a while, I avoided speaking to her,” says Deandra.
“But when I saw others chatting with her, smiling and laughing, I realised I wasn’t trying hard enough.”
That moment stayed with her.
So when she entered NTU, she made a promise to herself: Next time, I’ll do better.
Learn from Deandra how to tell someone "I care"
She joined NTU’s Welfare Services Club – specifically, the subgroup that runs programmes for the Deaf community. She started learning Singapore Sign Language. Week after week, she practised the signs, studied its grammar, and slowly built the courage to reach out.
Today, Deandra doesn’t just talk with her hands. The final-year bioengineering student also leads a team of 65 NTU undergraduates that teach, play with, and grow alongside Deaf youth in Singapore.
“I was really naïve. I used to think Deaf people were so different from me. But I was wrong. They’re just like you and me – nice, open people.
NTU students run fun Christmas concert events, where they perform carols with a mix of music, sign language and theatre to spread festive cheer and raise awareness for the Deaf community.
Hands speak, hearts listen
Every Saturday, student volunteers fan out to activity centres islandwide, from Clementi to Kallang, to teach English, science, geography and other subjects to children who are Deaf or have Deaf parents.
It’s not just about textbooks. They host science workshops and even make slime together.
“My child couldn’t stop talking about how fun it was. He got to make slime and also learnt some science concepts!” shares one grateful parent.
Other team members organise outings – bowling, bouldering, you name it. At one climbing session, student interpreters stood below, cheering the climbers on in sign.
“Without someone to interpret, many of these activities are just out of reach for Deaf youth,” says Deandra.
Their biggest event? The Christmas Song Sign – an annual crowd-puller where NTU students mix music, sign language and theatre.
Last year, the team lit up CHIJMES and Our Tampines Hub with classic carols.
With every raised hand and expressive face, they shared something far deeper than lyrics or lingo.
A language full of feeling
At the heart of it all is Singapore Sign Language – a language as local and lively as the people who use it. There are signs for kaypoh, don’t bluff, kueh lapis, and neighbourhoods like Tiong Bahru and Boon Lay.
“Singapore Sign Language reflects the language, culture and identity of Singaporean Deaf signers,” says Phoebe Tay, a Deaf NTU PhD student and key contributor to Singapore’s first online sign bank and e-book, which NTU launched last year. The bank has more than 900 signs – and counting.
All new NTU volunteers go through basic sign language classes conducted at NTU. It’s not just about memorising hand movements – your whole body joins in. Even your eyebrows matter.
“When you sign ‘surprise’, you need a surprised face too!” laughs Deandra.
“I now catch myself signing while talking to friends, without even realising it,” she says.
For many volunteers, what starts as community service turns into a lifelong passion. Some go on to take advanced sign language classes, train as interpreters, or become tutors at mainstream schools supporting hearing-impaired students.
Deandra says she’s grown in ways she never imagined.
And if you’re not a signer? That’s perfectly okay, she says.
Volunteering taught me there's always a way to connect - even without words. You can text, gesture, or simply smile. And sometimes, those speak the loudest.
– Deandra
Get involved, be inspired
NTU students have always had a heart for the community. In the new academic year, service learning will be introduced as a course for all undergraduates.
“We’ve heard many inspiring stories of NTU students and alumni going out of their way to lend a hand to others in less privileged situations. And they have all said how these interactions have changed their perspectives and helped them grow,” says Prof Gan Chee Lip, Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education).
To deepen this spirit of service, NTU is launching a new credit-bearing undergraduate course series titled Care, Serve and Learn. Students can select from several courses within the series, depending on their interests.
One of these courses is Uplift@NTU, where students will support children and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds through tutoring and mentoring.
“We want students to contribute meaningfully to society, starting with families in need,” Prof Gan explains.
This story was published in the Mar-Apr 2025 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.
