Born and raised in Buenos Aires. As a child, he attended the Maccabi club and studied in Jewish schools. But at the age of 15, everything changed: he lost his hearing, gradually and unexpectedly. Through his journey, Lucas went from being angry and confused, to sharing his insights with the world. Today, Lucas is helping countless people with hearing loss all over the globe, by raising awareness to accessibility for people with disabilities. He hosts a podcast on the subject, gives interviews in the media and was recently invited to attend at the AFS youth assembly in the United Nations.
MEET LUCAS:
Tell us about Your Work:
When I was 15 years old, I suddenly lost all my hearing in one ear and started to lose the hearing gradually in the other one, and I recovered it with a hearing implant when I was 20 years old. I was confused, alone and with no information regarding the medical procedures when I went to the surgery room. So, I did some research and started my journey to get a hearing implant. When I came out of surgery, I decided to share my journey with others, to give them the information that I struggled to find. I started posting the information on social media, and people started reaching out to me with questions, even from Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, Colombia, Spain and more. So, I started posting more about hearing devices on social media because I saw it was helping people.
I started to reach a lot of audience and started to meet with people with hearing loss, and parent of kids who were born deaf. At some point it got hard for me to meet everyone in person, so I started monthly meetings in squares around town so everyone could come together. Over the past year, more than 550 people came to these meeting to share their experiences and be together.
In addition, to answer the FAQs, I started a Podcast called “Sordo Pero no Mudo” (deaf but not dumb), where I interview experts and professionals, parents, children, and young people with hearing issues. It allows me more time to talk about specific subjects and dedicate attention to people. Today, people know to reach me for information. A year ago, I quit my job as a programmer. Now, I am working full-time in this field.
What is your proudest achievement?
My greatest achievement was turning this hobby into a full-time job, leaving programming and engineering and moving into life coaching, giving talks and workshops in companies, being consulted by politicians about disability and awareness, and bringing together more than 550 people with hearing loss in person in squares last year.
How would you describe the impact of your Masa program on your life and professional path?
My Masa program started planting a seed where I discovered freedom, the power of creating and building from scratch.
The program was five months long, and I stayed another five months after it ended. After the program, I went back to Argentina and realized that in Israel, when I interacted a lot in English and Hebrew, I didn’t have an issue with my hearing. I couldn’t understand what people were saying to me because of the language, not the hearing. So, it made me feel comfortable asking people to speak louder to me. I didn’t feel disabled in Israel.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I see myself revolutionizing the way people see and talk about disability, raising awareness as a lifestyle and generating a real impact on society.
my goal is to help people take control and succeed in doing whatever they want. I want to help people change their lives. Allowing people to grieve their disability with support, and showing people that a diagnosis is not a destiny.
I never thought it would come to this when I started, but now I am creating an NGO to help people with hearing loss. There are so many people who need help, and so many people who want to help. Meetings for children, for parents, the podcast – we’ll bring it all together under one association.
What is your advice for young Jews around the world who want to make a difference?
Believe and trust in the cause. Trust that when you give, you will receive.