Inclusive Community Activity · 2 October 2025 · Hanoi
Gieo Trăng: When Connection Needs No Words
A Mid-Autumn Festival with deaf and hard-of-hearing students taught me to observe, adapt, and communicate beyond speech.
01
Learning a new way to say hello
As Vice President of Chess for Charity, I helped organize and joined the Gieo Trăng program at Nhan Chinh School for Deaf Children in Hanoi. We brought star lanterns, small gifts, and the hope of sharing a joyful Mid-Autumn day with the students.
Before the activities began, we learned a few basic signs. I was excited but nervous: I was used to beginning a conversation with words, yet this time even a greeting required me to slow down, watch carefully, and learn a different form of expression.
02
Shared activities, shared understanding
We made lanterns, joined games, took part in a lantern procession, and distributed 64 gifts. One of my strongest memories was playing chess with a student. We communicated through moves, gestures, and expressions on the board; neither of us needed to explain everything in words.
The experience showed me that communication is not simply saying what I want to say. It is finding a form the other person can receive, then adjusting when that form does not work.
03
From empathy to engineering
The day also made me think about the barriers deaf and hard-of-hearing people face when important information is carried only by sound. I later began exploring an assistive glasses concept that converts selected sound signals into vibration alerts.
The idea is still experimental, but Gieo Trăng gave it a human purpose. To help someone, I first have to understand how they experience the world rather than assume that my usual way of communicating will work for them.
What stayed with me
“Connection begins when we are willing to step into another person’s way of experiencing the world.”