Mackalia Sturlin, a student of Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf, Kingston, located in Cassia Park, St Andrew, convincingly signed her way into the hearts of the audience and onto the scoresheets of the three judges at last Saturday’s staging of Optimist International Caribbean District’s Communication Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

The victory earned her a scholarship of US$2,500 to cover tertiary expenses.

Speaking on the topic ‘Healing the World with Optimism’, Sturlin, with great passion and conviction, declared that every individual has a choice — that of dwelling on the negative, or choosing positivity and lighting a dark room.

Acknowledging that the novel coronavirus pandemic has left many people feeling alone, frustrated and discouraged, she said that never before had she, or the world, experienced the millions of people who were sick, who were dying or paranoid.

Milestone events such as graduations have been cancelled and students had been forced into a virtual learning environment.

Notwithstanding the multiplicities of negatives, Sturlin said that optimism could help the world through its pervasive influence, fuelling hope and impacting lives positively.

To counter the impression among many people that the deaf and hard of hearing can do nothing, Sturlin pointed to achievement of the deaf farmer who, because of his optimism about what he could do, founded Deaf Can Coffee enterprise — an emerging brand in Jamaica.

She urged the audience to heal the world, one person at a time, and pointed to a Michelle Obama quote, “You may not always have a comfortable life, and you will not always be able to solve all the world’s problems at once, but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have. Because history has shown us that courage can be contagious, and hope can take on a life of its own.”

Sturlin’s participation in the contest was sponsored by the Optimist Club of St Matthew’s Kingston.

The second and third-place winners are both students of the Lister Mair Gilby School for the Deaf, located in Kingston — Tianna Dixon, sponsored by the Optimist Club of North St Andrew; and Emily Johnson, sponsored by the Optimist Club of Harbour View.

Optimist International Foundation sponsors the scholarship prize for the contest, as it does for its popular Oratorical Contest and the Essay Contest, staged annually by districts of Optimist International. Local sponsors contributing cash awards, plaques for the top three students and their teachers, as well as baskets for all contestants were Proven Wealth, Sagicor Group, Supreme Ventures, Jamaica Mortgage Bank and Cari-Med Limited. Caribbean Broilers and the Escarpment Road New Testament Church of God were the other sponsors.

Optimist International is a service organisation that focuses its energies on children and young people.