For many across the globe, the Fifa World Cup can be considered as one of the most anticipated events as famous footballers from different clubs would be present. Just over two months ago, Qatar had the pleasure of hosting the World Cup and as part of their Fifa World Cup Cultural Activation program, a Malaysian based musician was given the opportunity to showcase his talent.
Hearing-impaired M’sian performs at Qatar World Cup event
At just 19 years old, without any warning or symptoms, Jeshurun Vincent lost his hearing partially and it altered the course of his life forever. In a previous interview with WauPost, Jeshurun shared that he was going through a rough patch and was later diagnosed with depression.
“I was bed ridden for the most part as I lost my body balancing”, he said.
But as time passes, he was slowly accepting the changes that happened and stumbled upon music as a form of expression to help with his depression. Fast forward to 2022, Jeshurun has reached out with good news mentioning that he was given an opportunity to showcase his talents in Doha, Qatar during last year’s World Cup.
Received an invitation from a Malaysian living in Qatar
When asked about how he managed to perform for an event under the World Cup itinerary, he revealed that a kind Malaysian by the name Jerry reached out to him about the opportunity.
“Back in August, I was heading to West Africa and had a stop in Qatar. Through the Embassy Program, I was informed by Jerry, a Malaysian living in Qatar that apart from the football schedules, there were other cultural programs running and he told me to try applying for it.”
Without further hesitation, Jeshurun then crafted a proposal and sent it over to the organisers. While he felt like the chances of him being a part of such a large scale event was near impossible, he was still hopeful.
Miracles can happen as long as you don’t give up.
At that point, he mentioned that time was ticking and it was nearing the competition date.
“I thought my application wasn’t selected as I didn’t hear anything back from the organisers”, he said.
He decided to give it one last shot and sent a follow up email in regards to his application. To his surprise, he was contacted by the organiser and was given the honour of participating in the program.
“Never in my life would I have imagine myself to be able to be a part of such a large scale event especially when I received heavy amounts of discouragement back when I started out in 2014”, he mentioned.
The best is yet to come
Jeshurun has also shared that he has been working with Malaysian Embassies abroad to help promote cultural diplomacy at different universities. One of the highlights that he mentioned was that he was able to meet the Deputy Permanent Secretary to the Minister of Youth in Gambia.
He adds that at the moment, he is currently working on his second book that will be published this coming June. Lastly, when asked about his thoughts on the Malaysian art and music scene, he said that he hopes that there will be more Malaysian musicians rising to make our nation proud in the International Programs.
“We Malaysians are very talented and it is through continuous effort that will make a difference”, he said.
Thank you so much for sharing your story Jeshurun, it’s definitely refreshing and inspiring to witness your success!
Tap here to give us a ‘Like’ on Facebook and stay up-to-date on the latest news!
Also read: Despite being partially deaf, this musician travelled to 102 countries alone & set a M’sian record
