Despite being born with profound deafness, Paul Golmen is striving to achieve his dream of working in the tourism and hospitality sector.
The 27-year-old is currently doing his Grade 11 at the Lae Community College.
Being born with profound deafness means that Golmen cannot hear at all; an imposing challenge for a young man who has not given up hope on securing a brighter future for himself and his family.
With the aid of inclusive interpreter, Gabriel Daniel, Golmen shared that after completing primary education at the Markham Road Primary School, he was accepted at the Malahang Technical High School in 2008.
However, he had to withdraw as there was no inclusive education personnel there.
His sign language interpreter, Daniel, said the government needs to take into consideration people like Golmen, especially in terms of infrastructure and learning materials.
The 27-year-old East Sepik student shared that walking around in public poses its own unique challenges considering the lack of a visible physical disability.
“Ol sa lukim physical disability ol sa ting ol disabled man but they (Golmen) are different, they’re invisible,” interpreted Daniel. (When people see individuals with physical disabilities, they can identify them but not people like Golmen. They’re invisible.)
“Sampla taim ol bai wokabaut na sampla taim ol man ting olsem ol gutpla man na ol bai singaut lo ol tasol ol nonap harim. (Sometimes people unknowingly call out to them but they don’t hear them.)
“Sampla taim i mekim na ol no pilim orait taim ol man i sutim ston lo ol. (They feel bad when people sometimes throw stones at them to get their attention.)
“So sampla taim, em sa les lo wokabaut. Em sa stap tasol lo haus wantem papa na mama blo em. Em sa kam stret lo skul, after class, em sa go straight home.” (That’s why sometimes, he refuses to go outside. He’d rather stay indoors with his mom and dad. He’d come straight to school then after classes, he’d go straight home.)
Despite the odds stacked against him, Golmen is determined to successfully complete Grade 12.
After Grade 12, he plans to apply to the National Polytechnic Institute of PNG, believing that the tourism industry would not be as challenging to a hearing impaired student, compared to electrical engineering.
His second choice would be business studies.
(Paul Golmen, left, with inclusive interpreter, Gabriel Daniel)