"You always put on a brave front", said an old friend.
Three years ago, Special Achievers, an NGO for children and youth with disability I co-founded with colleagues Dana Salonga, Dane Raymundo and Pey Abdulwahid went to San Jose Elementary School, a public school in Rodriguez, Rizal and organized a fair for their SPED students in cooperation with Natimars Foundation.
After a month, we came back and talked to the
parents about what they think of the program and they told us how their
children’s self-confidence and independence improved as a result of the
activity.
This year marks the third year since we promised, “We shall return”.
We have enough to run the program for 12
sessions- but we need more funding to finish the documentary so this small
program can reach the world.
"You know, it's ok to be vulnerable too.", she advised.
"I'm a softie. I can't even raise my voice even when I'm angry.", I countered.
"True but you're stubborn as hell. Once you set your mind on something, you do everything to make it happen", she argued.
"So, what's wrong with that?", I asked.
"You don't need to do everything. It's ok to ask for help.", she replied.
So, here's my attempt at vulnerability. Let me tell you a story...
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| image from parkinsinteriors.com |
Three years ago, Special Achievers, an NGO for children and youth with disability I co-founded with colleagues Dana Salonga, Dane Raymundo and Pey Abdulwahid went to San Jose Elementary School, a public school in Rodriguez, Rizal and organized a fair for their SPED students in cooperation with Natimars Foundation.
We brought in athletes, visual artists, clay
artists, musicians and dancers in the school.
The students were allowed to try out the different arts and sports with
the supervision of their parents and SPED teachers.
* All photos by Cris Legaspi
It was truly a fun-filled day!
It was truly a fun-filled day!
“My son baked clay artworks in the oven during
the fair. After your activity, he would
use the oven toaster home. Eventually,
he even helped out in cooking.”, related a mom.
Given the positive response of the parents and
the enthusiasm we saw in the kids’, we promised to go back and run the
program for at least a year.
“We just need to work on our funding.”, we told
them.
However, we've never gotten around to it.
Other projects came in the way. We also got busy with our day jobs. (At the moment, Special Achievers is a passion project and the core team are all volunteers.)
Other projects came in the way. We also got busy with our day jobs. (At the moment, Special Achievers is a passion project and the core team are all volunteers.)
This year marks the third year since we promised, “We shall return”.
This promise haunts us every now and then. So, we told ourselves that we will make it
happen this year- no matter what.
Special Achievers received some funding- but not
enough for the logistics required for us to travel to far flung Rodriguez,
Rizal. So for now, we opted to run the
program in a school in the metro.
We were able to organize a great team, half of
which took a massive pay cut and half of which are volunteers- but all
committed to make the project happen.
Special Achievers brought in professionals in
dance, music, visual arts, creative theatre and chocolate making at San Antonio
National High School, a public school in Makati to train select SPED students.
SPED teachers, volunteer occupational therapists
and speech pathologists collaborate with and assist the mentors.
The parents were also consulted and given free
training for four sessions prior to the start of the program.
We’ve stretched, negotiated, settled and
practically did everything we could to make it happen- but it’s still not
enough.
We’ve been told, "If you think you've done
everything you could, then do something more,”
And so now, we ask you, “Can you please help us
help children and youth with disability?"
This is our something more.
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