A sign of generosity
It didn’t take a lot for Josiane Caetano, our Support Analyst, to feel the unstoppable need to help others. It was not a relative, or a friend who was deaf, or mute, for her to be interested in LIBRAS — the Brazilian Sign Language. It only took a single moment, a special occasion that made her become fascinated with the idea of doing good.
Once, when she was 13 years old, during an event held by the church she goes to, Josy — a nickname she lovingly got from her friends here — she noticed a boy, a little bit younger than her, just standing on the stage where the artists performed. When the music started, the boy started to translate, with signs, the lyrics of the songs. The crowd, mostly composed of teenagers, had no idea what was going on, buy Josy was so completely mesmerized that she barely noticed the artists that she wanted to see.
Being so young, Josy didn’t consider doing that for a living one day, but she felt sure that something inside her was craving for more. It was then that she decided to learn more about the subject and started taking LIBRAS lessons. She learned the basics, but for a number of reasons she did not keep on attending the classes.
Her vocation to help others, however, didn’t stop with those lessons. She became more and more interested in the subject, found songs to translate, and took on the role of that boy that had enchanted her that day in church. The most rewarding thing of all, according to her, is that it made other people become interested as well, and they wanted to learn from her.
Josy helps people wherever she goes, and gets emotional when she thinks of times in which she made a difference in someone’s day. Once, in a bakery, a man couldn’t make the attendant understand that he wanted a reusable bottle of pop, and could pay less for it. After some frustrating attempts, and when Josy realized what was going on, she went up to him and translated what he was trying to communicate to the attendant. When everything was solved, the relief in the eyes of the man and his gratitude were a true gift to Josy, who went home feeling very happy.
Also, one time she was the attendant at a beauty shop, when a customer had ignored the help of two other employees, who in turn got a bit bummed out, and even annoyed by the situation. When Josy got closer and realized that the woman was completely oblivious to the world around her while checking the difference between two products, Josy stood in in front of her. She looked her in the eyes, and once again offered to help. With a mix of lip-reading and sign language, they understood each other and the customer got the information she needed to make the purchase. Once again, Josy felt that warm feeling of having made someone’s day better.
A very common impression caused by people who are deaf, or mute, is that they are always nervous or stressed. What Josy asks is: “Have you ever felt like communicating, without being able to, and never being understood? Would you know how to describe this frustration? Why not trying to walk in other people’s shoes instead of jumping to conclusions?” No wonder she’s so grateful for having a gift that brings relief to people who experience this feeling, and, in her way, she ends up making other people want to do the same.
As Support Analyst at Hotmart, Josy has learned how to read between the lines, to go beyond what is being said. And she say with all certainty that this is because of the ability she developed, communicating with people who can’t hear, or speak. Full of ideas and suggestions to implement more inclusion in the workplace and the market, she dreams of a world in which everyone can express themselves and be understood. That’s why she is part of the employee community that is responsible for welcoming persons with disabilities the company is being preparing to receive.
The lesson Josy leaves us today is that it is very important not to ignore that voice that yells inside of you, even if it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense at the time. It may be something much more important, telling you that your mission in the world goes way beyond what you think.
