Raising their voices

These activities were designed based on her own experience. People with hearing difficulties tend to rely on their hearing aids, and feel insecure when they have to speak up. Since a lot of people with hearing difficulties have functioning vocal cords, Peng felt that these children should be encouraged to speak, even if they cannot hear their own voices.

When the workshop ended, although the team was unable to gather enough stories or materials written by the participants as they had hoped, they ended up establishing friendship with the children.

Dodo says that, in their recent return visit, the general feedback from parents was one of gratitude. A father said that his son, who was introverted at the beginning of the workshop, is making a lot of improvements at school, and even successfully applied for a position at a student society.

The team is now discussing hosting the workshops in other cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, and plans to write about the stories of these children and share the stories in the form of a stage play.

"We are really not here to teach the children anything. We are doing this to communicate and make friends with them. Hopefully, we have left the children with a few friends too," Dodo says.

Contact the writer at chengyuezhu@chinadaily.com.cn