A 16-year-old swimmer from the United Kingdom (UK), Thomas Harvey, is working hard to raise £5,000 so that he can represent the UK at the Deaflympics in Tokyo this November. Despite training up to three hours a day and qualifying for the international event, Thomas receives no government funding and must cover the costs of flights, accommodation, and gear himself. His mum, Kristin, said he has “worked his socks off” over the last 18 months, and they’ve now started fundraising to help get him to the competition.

Deaf Saudi artist Elham Abu Talib held her first solo art exhibition in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after almost 40 years of experiencing barriers. Elham was born Deaf and turned to painting as her way to communicate and express herself. Elham explains that her deafness meant that she could not attend university, but despite that, she never gave up on her passion. Using colours and brushstrokes as her voice, Elham has created more than 40 paintings which were recently showcased at the Saudi Arabian Society of Culture and Arts, sharing a vivid glimpse into her experience as a Deaf woman.

On June 16 was the birthday of popular Korean singer Lim Young-woong. His fan club “Jeonbuk Byeolbitbang” donated 4.77 million won to the Deaf community. The donation was made to the Korea Association of the Deaf. It is not known why they choose to donate to the Deaf community, but this is the fourth time that they have made a donation. While singer Young-woong has not made a direct donation to the Deaf community, the fan club share his values and their desire to contribute positively to society.