Films
About this video ‘The Door is Open’
INDONESIA: Indonesians with disabilities have faced barriers to involvement in elections. Ariani Soekanwo is changing that. *Audio descriptions for blind and low-vision audiences.
Filmmaker: Mahretta Maha
Mahretta Maha is a disability rights activist living with blindness. She is a program officer at the Association for Disability Access Elections (PPUAD) for the National Coalition of Organizations with Disabilities. Read more about Mahretta Maha
Transcript for ‘The Door is Open’
The video starts with Ariani Soekanwo, a 76-year-old Indonesian woman with low vision, wearing an orange hijab with a silver brooch, and red lipstick. Soekanwo is the founder of PPUA Disabilitas (Center for Election Access of Citizens with Disabilities). Four picture frames, including persons with disabilities at voting booths, are hung on a wall behind her. Urgent keyboard music with strings plays in the background throughout the duration of the video. Soekanwo, speaking in Bahasa Indonesia, says, “My name is Ariani Soekanwo.”
Cut to Ariani Soekanwo speaking into a microphone at a meeting. She is wearing a yellow hijab, a yellow blouse with multi-colored designs, and red lipstick. A beige wall is in the background.
Cut to Soekanwo speaking in front of the picture frames. “I’ve been involved in the disability movement since I was a college student.”
Cut to the PPUA logo on a white screen. The PPUA logo is a blue ballot box with blue text that says, “PUSAT PEMILU AKSES DIABILITAS” (Disability Access Election Center). Four accessibility icons are at the bottom of the box.
Cut to Soekanwo speaking in front of the picture frames. “The Center for Election Access of Citizens with Disabilities (PPUA) was established on April 24, 2002.”
Cut to a black text on a yellow screen that says, “Until the 1990s, Indonesian Election Law prohibited persons with disabilities from running for parliament, and voting places were often inaccessible to voters with disabilities.”
Cut to Soekanwo speaking, “Before the PPUA, the general election law was very discriminatory against people with disabilities.”
Cut to a photo of various people outside. A man, wearing glasses and a red shirt with blue designs, lifts a woman in a wheelchair up. The woman with a disability is wearing a blue button-down shirt and has neck-length black hair. A second man wearing a white shirt with blue designs and blue jeans lifts the front part of the wheelchair up.
Cut to a photo of a woman wearing black glasses and a red shirt. She reaches her left hand up to put a ballot in a white ballot box. Black letters that say “KPU” are on the ballot box. A woman with short black hair, wearing a blue-and-white checkered shirt, is in the background
Soekanwo’s voiceover continues, “In exercising the rights to vote, to be elected, and to be election organizers.” Cut to a photo of two men at a desk covered in a pink tablecloth. The table is stacked with ballots with blue, red, green, and yellow rectangles at the top of them. One man at the desk is standing up. He is wearing glasses and a light blue shirt with blue designs. A white sheet of paper with black text attached to a white string is around his neck. A turquoise plastic chair is behind him. The man standing up gives another man with no arms a ballot with a yellow border at the top. The man with no arms grabs the front end of the ballot with his mouth. Another man, wearing a green shirt with black designs stands to the left of the man with no arms. A third man seated at the table is wearing a beige and brown shirt and is writing on a ballot, on the right side of the photo. A door in the background with a white sheet of paper on it says, “KELUAR” (Go out).
Cut to Soekanwo speaking, “After about 15 years of PPUA’s struggle, people with disabilities currently have the right to vote.” Cut to a personal assistant helping a woman who is blind cast a ballot in a white ballot box that says “KPU” in black text. The woman is wearing a brown hijab, black sunglasses, and a purple blouse. The personal assistant is wearing a white shirt, a white taqiyah, and an orange lanyard around his neck. A second man near the personal assistant and the woman who is blind is wearing a white shirt and an orange lanyard, too. People are standing and seated behind them. Some are taking photos, and others are shooting video footage. Camera flashes go off in the background.
Cut to Soekanwo speaking, “Directly, publicly, freely, confidentially, honestly, and fairly.”
Cut to a man with a physical disability who uses crutches as he moved around a voting place with a ballot with a red rectangle at the top in his hand. Some people are seated at a green desk, some are standing up, and others are taking photos or video footage. Camera flashes go off in the background. The man with a physical disability is wearing a black shirt and pants. He passes by multiple ballot boxes resting on a brown table.
Cut to Soekanwo speaking, “They have also been able to get the right to be elected as a member of parliament and also to be governor and president as well as mayor.” Cut to pan shot of a white Indonesian parliament building with yellow text on the right exterior that says, “MAJELIS PERMUSYAWARATAN RAKYAT/ DEWAN PERWAKILAN RAKYAT/ DEWAN PERWAKILAN DAERAH” (Public Assembly/ Council of People’s Representatives/ Regional Representative Council). There is an orange design on the left wall of the right exterior. Cars are parked by the building. A long pool with a sculpture is to the left of the building and the parking lot, too. There are other several buildings in the background.
Cut to Soekanwo speaking, “And the opportunity has opened up to become election organizer members, members of Bawaslu and KPU.” Cut to a close-up of black text on a white surface that says “KPU.” A few people, election workers sorting ballots, stand together in the blurred background.
Cut to Soekanwo speaking, “So now young people with disabilities want to be active in understanding democracy.”
Cut to a woman in a wheelchair. She is wearing a purple hijab and a black shirt and is folding her ballot at a voting booth. A semi-opened ballot box that says, “KPU,” in black text is on a green table covered in a multi-colored tablecloth. Camera flashes go off in the background.
Cut to Soekanwo speaking, “And can participate in exercising their right to vote.”
Cut to a man posing for photos at a voting place. He is holding his left pinky finger up; the tip of his finger is covered in black ink. He is wearing a black shirt with brown designs over a white collared shirt. Another man with a physical disability is holding ballots behind him. A man wearing a white shirt, beige pants, and an orange lanyard around his neck, motions the man with a physical disability to the right. Some people are standing and others are seating at a green table with blue chairs in the background, others are taking photos or shooting video footage. People are talking and cameras flashes and clicks go off in the background.
Cut to a close-up of the man with ink on his finger posing for the cameras. He is holding various ballots. A woman wearing an orange hijab and a black shirt with brown designs is standing behind him. She is holding her phone. A “KPU” ballot box is resting on a table on the right. Several people are seated and others are walking around in the background.
Cut to Soekanwo speaking, “Because this is now open, although it is not easy yet, but the door is open so we have to be brave to enter to get involved as election organizers and parliament members.”
Cut to a slow zoom-out shot of a long pool and sculpture in front of the Indonesian parliament building. Cars are parked by the parliament building on the right. Other buildings are in the background.
Cut to an overhead shot of a person helping a man with a physical disability, who is holding crutches, dip his left pinky finger in a pot of black ink. The pot of ink is on a green table covered in a multi-colored tablecloth. He is wearing a black shirt with brown designs and a ring on his left finger. On the right, a white ballot box with black text on it that says “KPU” rests on a brown table. Camera flashes go off in the background.
Cut to another shot of the man with a physical disability, who uses crutches, moving towards a “KPU” ballot box to cast his vote. Several camera crews and photographers in the background are capturing the moment, camera flashes go off in the background.
Cut to a close-up shot of another man with a physical disability moving toward the ballot boxes on a green table covered in a multi-colored table cloth. He is wearing a black shirt with brown designs with a long-sleeve gray shirt underneath. Camera flashes go off in the background.
Cut to Soekanwo speaking, “With the full participation of people with disabilities being willing to show their existence in the election.”
Cut to four election workers gathered at a table covered in a white tablecloth and counting ballots. One woman on the far left is wearing a white blouse, a white bracelet, an orange hijab, and a black lanyard around her neck. She is standing next to large sheets of paper hung on a large white pinboard in the background A second woman on the left is wearing a white button-down shirt with a blue border, glasses, a watch, a ring on her right hand, and a black lanyard around her neck. On the right, a man wearing an orange button-down shirt with multi-colored designs is holding a ballot up. He is also wearing a black-and-white watch. A second man on the far right is wearing a white shirt and an orange cap with white text on it. He has a black lanyard around his neck. The woman on the left hands a ballot to the man on the right. Soekanwo’s voiceover continues, “Then the officials and candidates, those who will hold power, will pay attention to the fulfillment of disability rights, create programs and make budgets for disability needs.”
Cut to a close-up of two Indonesian flags on a flag pole, each with one red and one white horizontal stripe, on a pole outside. The sky outside is clear and blue. The flags blow in the wind.
Cut to Soekanwo speaking, “If we don’t show our existence, then our rights will be ignored.”
Fade to black text with a yellow border on a black screen that says, “Copyright – @2022 PPUA Disabilitas. All rights reserved.”
Fade to black text with a yellow border on a black screen that says, “Made with support from the Disability Justice Project and Disability Rights Fund.” The Disability Justice Project logo is a large yellow “D” with a black play button in the middle to signify video storytelling, and white text says “Disability Justice Project” on the bottom left. The Disability Rights Fund logo – a white box with black text that says, “Disability Rights Fund” – is on the bottom right of the screen.
About this video Denied Assistance
INDONESIA: Indonesian social assistance policy has left many persons with disabilities without financial support. *Audio descriptions for blind and low-vision audiences.
Filmmaker: Kinanty Andini
Kinanty Andini is a freelance graphic design and digital artist. She is affiliated with the Indonesia Mental Health Association (IMHA), also known as the Association of Healthy Souls. Read more about Kinanty Andini
Transcript for Denied Assistance
The video starts with a timelapse of clouds passing over a tall white monument and a green pool with foundation sprinklers. A statue is in front of the monument. Palm trees surround the pool. High-rise buildings are in the background. Soft piano music plays throughout the video.
Cut to black text on a yellow screen that says, “Because of employment barriers, many Indonesians with disabilities have no steady income. Forced to live with family members, they are caught in a cycle of dependency. This cycle is reinforced by the Indonesian government’s policy to focus social assistance on families and not individuals.”
Cut to Yeni Rosa Damayanti, an Indonesian woman with black shoulder-length hair, sitting in an office and speaking to the camera in Bahasa Indonesia: “My name is Yeni Rosa Damayanti. The government’s social protection schemes are usually family-based.” She is chairperson of the Indonesian Mental Health Association (IMHA). Several items rest on a beige table behind Damayanti; a letter and certificate in frames, an award, and plants in a pot.
Cut to Damayanti sitting at a table outside and holding a white mug. Plants are behind her. She speaks to someone off-camera.
Cut to Damayanti speaking in the office, “So the social protection is given to families who fall into the poverty criteria.”
Cut to Damayanti speaking to an audience off-camera in an office. She is standing up and using hand gestures to communicate with her audience. She also holds a plate of food. A white sheet of paper tapped a brown door in the background contains text that says, “Kosong” (empty).
Cut to Damayanti speaking in the office, “The problem is that many people with disabilities live with their families.”
Cut to a man pushing a woman in a wheelchair. The woman in the wheelchair has black hair in a ponytail. The man’s face mask hangs on the left side of his face. Two people walk in front of the man and the woman in a wheelchair and enter a house. The man helps the woman in a wheelchair stand up. A pool is in the foreground. Damayanti’s voiceover continues, “And the families they live in are not necessarily categorized as poor.”
Cut to an aerial shot of the Indonesian parliament building, a low-rise building with a curved light green roof. Several high-rise buildings and trees are in the background. People are at the steps leading up to the parliament building. Damayanti’s voiceover continues, “The government is expected to change its perception of social assistance, no longer aimed at only poor families but also aimed at poor individuals with a very easy criterion, individual income.”
Cut to Damayanti speaking.
Cut to a close-up, slow-motion shot of an Indonesian person counting Indonesian rupiah banknotes.
Cut to Damayanti speaking with hand gestures to an audience off-camera. A flower painting in a frame hangs on a wall, and a window is in the background.
Cut to Damayanti speaking, “Our hope is because people with disabilities have extra costs of disability that non-disabled people don’t experience, they should get an allowance, at least to cover the extra costs.”
Cut to a woman in a wheelchair wearing a pink hijab and moving by a busy sidewalk with her family. A man pushes the wheelchair, and another holds one handle of the wheelchair. Several people are talking and moving around the sidewalk and others prepare to take a group picture in the background. Most of the people on the sidewalk are wearing face masks. Damayanti’s voiceover continues, “So there should be disability benefits provided to all persons with disabilities.”
Cut to Damayanti speaking, “Irrespective of their economic condition.”
Cut to a pan shot of a dimly lit living room with a brown couch, white-and-gray window curtains, and a picture frame on a wall. Cut to Bambang’s distorted voiceover in Bahasa Indonesia: “I don’t get cash assistance at all.” Bambang is a man with a psychosocial disability who wishes to remain anonymous.
Cut to a close-up shot of Bambang’s hands. He is seated on the brown couch. He says in a distorted voice, “And for DTKS [Social Welfare Integrated Data], honestly, I really want my data to be there [to be a candidate for DTKS recipient].”
Cut to Bambang getting up from the brown couch and walking to another room on the left. There are other brown chairs around the living room area. His distorted voiceover continues, “Because it is DTKS that determines whether we get KPDJ [Jakarta Disability Card] or not.”
Cut to Bambang speaking on the brown couch.
Cut to black text on a yellow screen that says, “While Bambang doesn’t work and has no income of his own, his eligibility for social assistance is based on his family’s income, not his own. Because his mother and sister live in a larger house in a wealthier part of town, they are considered too “rich” for him to qualify for assistance.”
Fade to another yellow screen with black text that says, “This leaves Bambang dependent on others for his survival. If he lives with his family, he is denied social assistance; if he doesn’t live with his family, he will become homeless.”
Cut to a pan shot of cars and motorcycles passing by a busy street lined with homes and small shops. Few people stand on the busy street. Bambang’s distorted voiceover continues: “I think we are most entitled to get KPDJ because we are people with disabilities.”
Cut to Bambang opening his white front door, fixing his black sandals, then leaving his house. His distorted voiceover continues, “We have additional living expenses such as medicine.”
Cut to Bambang speaking in a distorted voice, “If that (KPDJ) can reach us, it will really help us as people with disabilities.”
Fade to black text with a yellow border on a black screen that says, “Copyright – @2022 IMHA. All rights reserved.”
Fade to black text with a yellow border on a black screen that says, “Made with support from the Disability Justice Project and Disability Rights Fund.” The Disability Justice Project logo is a large yellow “D” with a black play button in the middle to signify video storytelling, and white text says “Disability Justice Project” on the bottom left. The Disability Rights Fund logo – a white box with black text that says, “Disability Rights Fund” – is on the bottom right of the screen.
About this video Health Care Ensured
INDONESIA: Indonesians with disabilities still lack equal access to healthcare. A new policy provides hope for Sustia Rini. *Audio descriptions for blind and low-vision audiences.
Filmmaker: Sri Sukarni
Sri Sukarni is chairperson of the Indonesia Association of Disabled Women (HWDI)’s branch in the province of West Nusa Tenggara. Read more about Sri Sukarni
Transcript for Health Care Ensured
The video starts with an aerial shot of a highway and a blue-and-white monument in the city of Mataram in West Lombok District, Indonesia. Audio of a car revving plays in the background. Soft piano music plays in the background, too.
Fade to black text on a yellow screen that says, “Over the last decade, Indonesia has reformed its national health insurance system to provide healthcare coverage for all Indonesians.”
Fade to black text on the same yellow screen that says, “However, Indonesians with disabilities still don’t have equal access to healthcare.”
Fade to black text on a yellow screen that says, “Sustia Rini is a 37-year-old woman with a disability and a mother of four. When she first applied for mandatory health insurance as an individual payer, she was charged $8 a month by Indonesia’s Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS).”
Fade to black text on a yellow screen that says, “With no steady income, she struggled to make payments.”
Fade to Sustia Rini, an Indonesian woman wearing a multi-colored hijab, standing in a room and speaking to the camera in Bahasa Indonesia: “In 2013 I made a BPJS Mandiri card by taking Class II [level of services].” A red curtain and a cabinet of office items are behind her.
Cut to the exterior of the West Lombok public health office. A parked car is at the entrance of the office. A red chair and a brown table are next to the entrance. A man walks across the office.
Cut to a sign on the exterior of the public health office that says, “BHAKTI HUSADA COOPERATIVE SECRETARIAT, WEST LOMBOK HEALTH DEPARTMENT,” in Bahasa Indonesia. A “Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia” informational poster in Bahasa Indonesia is on the right.
Cut to Rini speaking in the room. “The installment was 42,000 [rupiah]. At that time, my husband and I and my third child were included in BPJS Independent.”
Cut to black text on a yellow screen that says, “Eventually, Rini stopped making payments to BPJS. Everyone in her family was healthy, so she didn’t see the need for health insurance. Then one of her children became sick, and she had no way to pay the hospital bills.”
Cut to cars passing by a tree-lined street in Mataram. A man sits on one of several brown benches on the sidewalk. A few people move by the sidewalk. Rini’s voiceover continues, “In 2015, my first child was sick and needed hospital treatment.”
Cut to Rini speaking.
Fade to black text on a yellow screen that says, “Rini applied for free health care known as PBI. She was denied for several reasons.”
Cut to Rini speaking, “The Mataram City Health Office explained that for 2015, there was no program from PBI in the Mataram City area.”
Cut to a pan shot of Rini walking towards the front entrance of the Regional Health Laboratory. She is wearing a black hijab. Several cars and motorcycles are parked next to the laboratory.
Fade to black text on a yellow screen that says, “Because Rini had stopped making payments to BPJS as an individual payer, she also owed the government money. She was told that until she paid off her debt, she would not be eligible for PBI.”
Fade to black text on a yellow screen that says, “In June, the Disability Justice Project visited the West Lombok District Health Office, where Nurse H. Zuljipli, secretary of the West Lombok District Health Office, explained that Rini was mistaken.” Soft piano music transitions to upbeat piano music for the rest of the video.
Fade to black text on a yellow screen that says, “The Health Office had changed its policy in 2020. Now anyone who needs free healthcare can receive it whether they owe money or not.”
Cut to a black-and-brown sign on the side of a busy street. The sign says, “WEST LOMBOK DISTRICT GOVERNMENT / DISTRICT HEALTH OFFICE. WEST LOMBOK” in Bahasa Indonesia.
Cut to the exterior of the West Lombok public health office. A red chair and a brown table are at the entrance. Two people are seated at a reception desk.
Cut to Nurse H. Zuljipli, an Indonesian man, sitting in an office and speaking to the camera in Bahasa Indonesia: “To answer your question earlier related to the BPJS PBI program in West Lombok, it is a form of presence and support for the people of West Lombok.” A brown cabinet stacked with papers and binders is in the background.
Cut to four men and four women meeting around a long brown table at the West Lombok health office. The women are wearing hijabs.
Cut to Zuljipli speaking in the office, “It is recorded that she has a lot of debts and unable to pay them, but when she is sick, needs financing, needs service, she is accommodated. She can be transferred [into PBI free healthcare] her status does not require her to pay the debts first, but still being considered as debts [owed to the government].”
Cut to a “Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia” informational poster in Bahasa Indonesia at a health office.
Cut to a sign on the exterior of a health office that says, “FIELD OF HEALTH RESOURCES” in Bahasa Indonesia.
Cut to Zuljipli speaking, “This is when the regulation came to allow it, we have done that since 2020. People who used to be independent [payers], although having debts due to not paying the premiums, we can still serve them.”
Cut to Rini walking up to a woman wearing a white hijab at the West Lombok public health office’s reception desk. She sits down on a chair. A man at the reception desk occupies another chair.
Fade to black text on a yellow screen that says, “Now Rini and other West Lombok citizens are in the process of applying for free health care.”
Cut to Rini smiling and speaking to the camera, “I am very happy because I can make BPJS PBI without paying arrears.” Rini’s black hair is in a pulled-back hairstyle.
Fade to black text with a yellow border on a black screen that says, “Copyright – @2022 HWDI. All rights reserved.”
Fade to black text with a yellow border on a black screen that says, “Made with support from the Disability Justice Project and Disability Rights Fund.” The Disability Justice Project logo is a large yellow “D” with a black play button in the middle to signify video storytelling, and white text says “Disability Justice Project” on the bottom left. The Disability Rights Fund logo – a white box with black text that says, “Disability Rights Fund” – is on the bottom right of the screen.
About this video Inclusion 101
NIGERIA: Students with DeafBlindness face education barriers in Nigeria. *Audio descriptions for blind and low-vision audiences.
Filmmaker: Oluwabukolami Omolara Badmus
Oluwabukolami Omolara Badumus is a disability rights activist and feminist based in Lagos, Nigeria. She is both the financial secretary and Lagos state coordinator for the Lionheart Ability Leaders International Foundation (LALIF). Read more about Oluwabukolami Omolara Badmus
Transcript for Inclusion 101
The video starts with a yellow screen with a title card in a black font that says, “Miracle Balogun is 17 years old. He was born Deaf and with low vision. He has struggled in mainstream schools because of a lack of accessible learning materials and a lack of teachers trained in communicating with DeadBlind students.” Melancholy guitar instrumental plays.
Another title card fades in: “His mother did not wish to appear on camera.” Voiceover of a woman, Miracle Balogun’s mother, says, “His education has been eclectic.” Melancholy guitar instrumental volume decreases.
Cut to an adolescent boy wearing a blue, white, black, and turquoise shirt. He is Miracle Balogun. He is standing in front of a room with a sign that says “LIBRARY” above the door. The building walls are painted pink. He is smiling. He proceeds to hold an index finger up. Voiceover of Balogun’s mother continues, “Most schools, they don’t understand him. I’ll put it that way.”
Cut to Balogun standing with a woman in a black and beige dress. He is wearing black sandals. They are conversing in sign language. There is grass to the right. An adolescent boy steps out of a room behind them, past a black gated door. Voiceover Balogun’s mother continues, “Or, they lack the ability to cope with such a child. I don’t know how to….”
Cut to Balogun drinking from a big bottle of water. He turns his head and looks to the right. Voiceover of his mother continues, “Because he has been in one class for six years. Ever since we put him in the school, they refuse to promote him.”
Cut to Balogun resting his hand on a pink wall with the other hand behind his back. There is a brown bench to the left and windows to the right. Voiceover of his mother says, “I now took it upon myself to start teaching him on my own.”
Cut to a yellow screen with a title card in a black font that says, “Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Nigeria ratified in 2010, and UN Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 10 guarantee equal opportunities for all learners, including those with disabilities.” Melancholy guitar instrumental volume increases. Another title card fades in, “However, students with DeafBlindness in Nigeria are deprived of these fundamental rights, forcing many to drop out of school or to enroll in residential programs.”
Cut to a man wearing a lime green button-down shirt and black tie. He has a pair of headphones around his neck. He is conversing in sign language with a woman wearing a white shirt with blue, red, and yellow designs. She is wearing a watch. The man is holding the woman’s hands. They are standing in front of a black gate with its pedestrian door open.
Cut to the same man. In this shot, he is wearing a dark blue button-down shirt and a black tie. There is a laptop on a table to the right. He is seated on an orange chair in front of a large cabinet full of notepads and other stationery items. The cabinet and the wall behind him are painted pink. His name and title appear on screen: “Solomon Olakunle Okelola, Executive Director, LALIF [Lionheart Ability Leaders International Foundation]” Okelola says, “The major challenge which individuals with DeadBlindness face in Nigeria arise as a result of their inability to communicate and socialize with people.”
Cut to a close-up of Okelola conversing with a woman in sign language. Cut to Okelola saying, “Teachers in most schools do not know there are ways they can teach and that they can communicate with people with DeafBlindness.” Cut to Okelola conversing with a woman in American Sign Language and English, “International Commission for Persons with…” Cut to Okelola saying, “In the recent survey, we just concluded here in Lagos State, most individuals with DeadBlindness are out of school.” His black belt and black trousers are seen in the frame.
Cut to a close-up of Miracle Balogun with his back leaning against a pink wall. He turns his head to the left. Okelola continues, “And unable to access education. The few of them who manage to attend school cannot easily access learning like their counterparts.”
Cut to a close-up of a person reading Braille from a book. Cut to Okelola saying, “The educational needs of individuals with DeafBlindness are not being provided for by the government in terms of policy-making and by the teachers in terms of implementation of teaching, learning, activity, that can meet the unique need of this individual.” Cut to Miracle Balogun signing to the camera.
Cut to a woman wearing a white and pink dress. She has on a light gray head wrap and gold hoop earrings. She is conversing with someone off-screen. A person off-screen says, “He cannot hear, yes.” To the right is an adolescent boy wearing a green and blue shirt and sitting on a yellow chair. He is Ayodeji Lawal. To the adolescent boy’s right is another man in a white and blue striped shirt. They are seated in front of a black wall.
Cut to a yellow screen with a title card in a black font that says, “Ayodeji Lawal is also DeafBlind. He is out of school after his mother discovered problems with his residential placement.” Synth instrumental starts.
Cut to close up of the same woman wearing a pink and white dress. Her name and title “Balikis Adebola Lawal, Ayodeji’s mother” appears on the screen. Lawal says, “He couldn’t walk, he couldn’t talk until he was three years. He started crawling with his chest. He couldn’t sit on his own. We support him with a pillow, this that, to make him sit up. Problems started at the early stage of his life. [Inaudible] we didn’t notice it on time.”
Cut to Balikis Adebola Lawal with her son Ayodeji Lawal who is drinking from a can. The second man in a blue and white striped shirt remains seated close to Ayodeji Lawal. “Discovered that he’s highly interested in education, so I enrolled him in a normal school, not knowing that he’s supposed to go to special school.
Cut to close up of Balikis Adebola Lawal. She says, “I met a schoolmate, Michael. That one led special education in Oyo. So he was teaching in one of the special schools.” Cut to Lawal and her son. Man in a white and blue striped shirt gets up and picks something off the floor with his other arm around Adodeji Lawal’s neck. Balikis Adebola Lawal continues, “It got into a stage, the owner of the school, the mama that owns the school doesn’t have much time. I just discovered that they didn’t care for them. To my own satisfaction.”
Cut to a yellow screen with a title card in a black font that says, “There are multiple ways to communicate with someone who is DeafBlind.”
Cut to Okelola in front of a pink cabinet and wall. He is wearing a lime green shirt and a black tie. An HP laptop is placed in front of him. Okelola says, “Sometimes sign language basically involves the use of the usual American Sign Language, the only difference being the fact that an individual with DeadBlindness read the sign with the hands instead of with the eyes, at least in the general case.”
Cut to Okelola sitting across from a woman wearing a red dress and gold earrings. Okelola is wearing a white shirt and has a pair of black headphones around his neck. The woman is interpreting something to Okelola in American Sign Language. He is holding her hands. She leans to her right to listen to audio coming from a red and black device. There are few people near them around a table and plastic chairs.
Cut to Okelola, “If an interpreter is signing, I can put my hands on the hand of the interpreter to read what he or she is signing.” Cut to Okelola in the same scene as described above. This time, he is conversing with a woman in a brown and white striped shirt. The woman wearing a red dress leans against a blue table to listen to the device once again. A third woman wearing a white shirt is seated at another table.
Cut to Okelola. He says, “Another way of communication involve the use of big, bold letterings.” Cut to a shot of an alphabet chart on a pink wall. On the left, there is a green wall and a window. Both walls have other items stuck to them. Cut to a close-up of the alphabet chart, focusing on the letters “E”, “F”, and “G” with the words and images of “eggs,” “fish,” and “grapes” near the letters, respectively.
Cut to Okelola, who says, “Individuals with DeadBlindness can also be able to learn Braille.” Cut to an adolescent girl seated on a green chair and reading Braille from a book. She is wearing a black hijab and red shirt with red, black, and white designs. Okelola continues, “There is an application that can convert speech to Braille so that a DeadBlind can make use of it the same way as a person with visual impair.” Cut to a close-up of the adolescent girl reading Braille. Synth instrumental volume increases.
Cut to a yellow screen with a title card in a black font that says, “Individuals with DeafBlindess.” The words fade out downwards. The following phrases fade in and out, respectively: “may be completely Deaf but with residual vision,” “completely blind with residual hearing,” “have low vision and residual hearing,” “or completely Deaf and completely blind.” Other phrases continue to fade in and out, respectively, “To ensure an inclusive education for students who are DeafBlind, the following steps must be taken: Government officials, policymakers, and the disability community must recognize that people who are DeafBlind have distinct needs that are different from those who are blind or Deaf.”
Title cards with transitions continue, “Laws need to be passed to protect individuals with DeafBlindness and ensure equal access to education, employment, medical care, and more.” “More data needs to be collected on the number of people living with DeafBlindness in Nigeria.” “Teachers need to learn how to communicate with students who are DeafBlind. Otherwise, these students could be cut off from one of the key pathways to fully participating in society throughout their lives.”
Fade to black and title cards highlighted in yellow on a black screen that says, “Copyright – @2022 Lionheart Ability Leaders International Foundation. All rights reserved.” Synth music fades out. Screen fades to black. Cut to Copyright- @2022. Lionheart Ability Leaders International Foundation. All rights reserved.