Episode 8 of Rising Voice(s)

This is already the last of the conversations in light of our partnership with  And Then Suddenly Podcast a NY-based show developed by writer and podcaster Angela Santillo where people share moments that turned their lives upside down!

Between September and December 2019  And Then Suddenly  featured 8 conversations with partners from Voice based in Africa or Asia. The featured individuals -leaders of organisations or informal groups- work tirelessly to ensure that their own voices, as well as those they represent, are at the table and not on the menu! The moments they share are their very own and the conversations are impromptu and candid.

Podcaster Angela Santillo only asks one question to kick off the conversation:  What’s a moment that turned your life upside down?  Never knowing what her guests will say, the conversation takes twists and turns that go beyond our ordinary stories about big life moments. Impromptu, funny, and always honest, this show explores what really happens after everything changes in an instant.

8. Hellen Beyioku-Alase on using her voice to help deaf women in Nigeria

As a deaf woman in Nigeria, Hellen Beyioku-Alase from Deaf Women Aloud Initiative heard stories about the discrimination in hospitals towards the deaf community but it wasn’t until her first pregnancy that she experienced how bad the problem was. After being ignored in the waiting room and a difficult birth, she decided to advocate for deaf women and girls.  We talk about her work to get sign language interpreters into hospitals and what she is doing so all deaf women know their rights.

*This interview is conducted with a sign language interpreter