REBUILD Newsletter (July 2014)

8/12/2019 REBUILD Newsletter (July 2014)

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Worlds 1st armless pilotvisits REBUILD Project

JULY 2014

MEET AND GREET Baras Federaon of Persons with Disabilies Associaons, Inc.

President Angelito Donaldo Roxas Sr. introduces his co-ocers to mul-awarded

Filipino-American pilot Jessica Cox. Photo: Daryl Zamora / Handicap Internaonal

After giving encouragement to

victims of typhoon Haiyan in

Tacloban City and Eastern

Samar, renowned armless pilot

Jessica Cox met with people

with disabilities in Baras, Rizal

on March 5.

The 31-year-old Filipino-

American talked to five

beneficiaries of Handicap

InternationalsREBUILD Project.

The project aims to empower

people with disabilities by

facilitating their access to various

livelihoods and social services. It

also works with the local

government and organizations of

persons with disabilities in

advocating for an inclusive society.

The REBUILD Project also

serves as a follow-up to HIs

emergency response to the

typhoons which devastated the area

in 2009.

It is amazing to see Handicap

Internationals long-term

Whats Inside

BFPWDAI recognized,

gains new mems p. 2

Mayor signs MOA p. 3

Facts and gures of the

REBUILD Project p. 5

Kuya Boys 2nd life p. 7

Photo gallery p. 8CONTINUED ON PAGE 11


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News2

REBUILD Project Newsletter | July 2014

The Baras Federation of

Persons with Disabilities

Associations Inc. (BFPWDAI)

has seen dramatic increase in

membership and

accomplishments since the

coming of the REBUILDProject, said its president,

Angelito Donaldo Roxas Sr.

We used to have only about

360 members, says Kuya Boy, as

the 49-year-old president is fondly

called. Now we have about 700;

almost half of them have already

received their ID card as Persons

with Disabilities.

Kuya Boy attributes much of

this surge to the awareness

campaign being carried out by the

REBUILD Project alongside the

BFPWDAI. Seminars, forums, and

printed materials do well to inform

Baras residents of the benefits of

becoming a Federation member,

he says.

Among these benefits is getting

an ID Card for Persons with

Disabilities, which enables the

holder to receive 20 percent

discount in many services and

products. This privilege is enshrined

in the Magna Carta for Persons with

Disabilities and Republic Act 9442.

According to Kuya Boy, the

BFPWDAI has also piled up other

achievements, which were facilitated

largely by the REBUILD Project.

Now the Federation is officially

recognized by local government, he

said. The Federation and

government now have the same

language when it comes to

discussing disability affairs.

Today the BFPWDAI is already

part of the Municipal Disaster Risk

Reduction and Management Council

and the Municipal Peace and Order

Council. Kuya Boy said that soon the

Federation will also become part of

the Municipal Development Council.

Local government support for the

Persons with Disabilities sector is

also seen in the renovations it carried

out in Municipal Hall recently. Baras

Mayor Kathrine KC Robles

instructed the refurbishment of the

ground-floor comfort room to

accommodate people with

disabilities. Improvements were also

made at the town halls entrance

ramp.

BFPWDAI gains recognition, surge of new members

EUROPEAN UNION

REBUILD Project

Solem Bldg., JP Rizal St.,

Santiago, Baras, Rizal

Tel. (02) 234-5404

2014 Handicap International -

Philippines Program

This document has been produced through

the financial assistance of the European

Union and Swiss Solidarity. The viewsexpressed herein should not be taken, in

any way, to reflect the official opinion of

the European Union and Swiss Solidarity.

OPEN FORUM BFPWDAI Secretary Ruben

Moral answers quesons during the

Federaons General Assembly last year.Photo: Handicap Internaonal


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Thirty beneficiaries of the

REBUILD Project a livelihood

and inclusive local development

project in Rizal province haveattended a training on organic

agriculture last May 13-15. They

were either relatives of or were

themselves people with disabilities,

female household heads, or elderly

persons who have agricultural

livelihoods. Speakers from HI and

agricultural offices shared their

knowledge in the stay-in seminar.

Topics ranged from rice production

to fisheries and hog-raising. The

town mayor of Baras, where the

REBUILD Project is based, also

announced that soon a fair would be

set up, so that trainees could sell

their harvest easily.

HI conducts training on organic agriculture

Baras mayor, HI sign MOA for REBUILD

SIGNATURES Baras Mayor Kathrine KC Robles (le) signs the MOA on the partnership

between Handicap Internaonal and the Municipality of Baras. Photo: Handicap

Internaonal

Baras Mayor Kathrine KC Roblesand then REBUILD Project Manager

Mary Grace Baban signed a

memorandum of agreement (MOA)

on their partnership for the Project

last December 17. The ceremony

was held at Punta de Fabian Hotel

and Resort in Baras, Rizal. Officers

of the Baras Federation of Persons

with Disabilities Associations, Inc.

also attended the event, as well asother local government officials.

Eighty-eight people witnessed the

event.

News 3


HOW TO Yoniza SJ Matamis (right) of the Baras Municipal Agricultural Oce

demonstrates how to make a fermented fruit juice as an organic ferlizer.

Photo: Handicap Internaonal

Leaders and persons with disabilities from Baras attended a seminar on disability and disaster risk reduction (DRR)

at Punta de Fabian resort on July 23-25, 2013. The event was held in celebration of the National Disaster

Consciousness Month. They engaged in workshops and other interactive activities. Cresencia Comia, then an

officer for Handicap International's project on DRR, explained the main concepts on disabilities and disasters. On

the other hand, Program Inclusion Officer Edward Ello tackled other concrete ways in practicing inclusion.

Local leaders, persons with disabilities learn ways to reduce risk of disasters


4/12

In the morning, I wake up at 3 am

to prepare the fishballs and hotdogs,

as well as the dipping sauce, the 39-

year-old mother of two says. Then

at around 6 am, I fetch water for our

neighbors who pay us five pesos per

gallon.

Yet all that is now routine for

Jessebel. Even her injured hip

which she has been sustaining since

childhood and was not treated

because her parents couldnt afford

medical treatment is neither a

hindrance to her. She does feel painin her upper leg sometimes, but she

would rather not pay it any attention.

Thats how it is. I have to work to

earn a living, she says, smiling

and glancing wistfully at her cart.

Jessebels situation used to be far

worse. Her family was amongthose seriously affected by tropical

storm Ketsana (Ondoy) in 2009.

Left with nothing save for some

luck they were afterwards able

to avail of a housing program in

Baras. The Sahaguns used to live in

Angono (also in Rizal province, 20

km west of Baras) where Jessebels

husband would fish in the nearby

lake, while she would sell hiscatch.

When they moved into the

resettlement village in 2011, the

couple started to live on fetching

water for their neighbors. They filled

gallons at the community pozo

(water pump). At best they wouldearn only P100 per day so much

so that sometimes the family would

need the help of neighbors to have

their lunch.

But Jessebel saw an opportunity in

making rags from spare cloths,

which she would buy near her

former place in Angono. She would

sew doormats out of the cloths and

sold them; in a given month, sheearned P2,000. But the business

OTHER AND SON Jessebel Sahagun's eight-year

-old son somemes helps her cut the

tdogs, ready for sale. Photo: Daryl Zamora / Handicap Internaonal

The merciless afternoon sun scorches the awning that protects Jessebel Sahaguns street -food cart.

She has parked the cart outside her friends house in Baras, Rizal, 50 km east of Manila.

A cartful of hope

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Features4



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Features 5


REBUILD Project: Facts & Figures

Data as of May 2014


6/12

The 43-year-old former teacher

always finds something to chuckle

about even if youre discussing

serious topics such as her plans for

the PDAO in Baras.

My name spells out my

priorities, she says. Livelihood,

Education, Advocacy, Health!

Cheerfulness has served Leah

well. This is especially true in her

early years of service to the

disability sector, where one could

immediately see various injustices

done to people with disabilities.

A year after glaucoma destroyed

her sight in 1996, Leah joined the

Philippine Blind Union and helped

the group in every way she could.

She also volunteered in a

Community-Based Rehabilitation

organization and soon became its

treasurer. In 1999 she pursued a

yearlong course in massage therapy

and baking. And within 10 years,

she was elected president of her

barangays organization for people

with disabilities. She also spent a

term serving as a barangay

councilor.

Today, in Baras, Leah has more

reasons to rejoice. As PDAO focal

person since January 2013, she has

seen the partnership between the

Municipality of Baras and the Baras

Federation of Persons with

Disabilities Associations Inc.

(BFPWDAI) grow and gain

strength. She witnessed how the

REBUILD Project has empowered

people with disabilities in Baras,

including herself.

Through REBUILD, I was able to

go places to attend various trainings

on disabilities, she says. We

talked in flag ceremonies to expressour rights, and the people of Baras

became aware that people with

disabilities also have rights.

But Leah is looking forward to a

more cheerful future for herself,

her son, and her fellow persons with

disabilities. Among her plans is, of

course, described by the acronym

LEAH. She cant be stopped. Her

spirit is indomitable. Indeed she

incarnates the cry of many young

people: YOLO You Only Live

Once!

LEAH is an acronym

Baras Persons with Disabilities Affairs Office (PDAO) focal person Leah Mercado hasa contagious joy.

My name spells

out my priorities.

WITNESS Leah has observed how the

disability sector in Baras ourished with

the support of the REBUILD Project.

Photo: Daryl Zamora / Handicap

Internaonal

Features6



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Features 7


in his native Baras, Rizal. He was

appointed as secretary. It was at

this point that Kuya Boy

understood that his second life

would be dedicated to helping

people with disabilities to attain

justice, exercising their basic rights

as human beings.

When I became paralyzed, I

realized there are people who are

weak, whose rights have to be more

vigorously asserted, he says.

The devastation that tropical

storm Ondoy (Ketsana) wrought in

September 2009 also bolstered

Kuya Boys resolve. He too was a

victim of the freak storm, but he

knew other people with disabilities

in Baras suffered more perhaps

even died because a disability-

inclusive disaster management was

still lacking then.

It was no surprise, then, that in

2010 Kuya Boy was elected to

become the first president of the

Baras Federation of Persons with

Disabilities Associations, Inc.

(BFPWDAI). He has since poured

all this strength and mind to the taskof supporting people with

disabilities in the best way he could.

He met various obstacles, including

insufficient capacity for

organizational development,

advocacy, and other competencies to

push the federation forward.

And then came the REBUILD

Project in 2012. Working as

collaborators to facilitate access of

people with disabilities (and other

vulnerable groups) to basic social

services and livelihoods as well as

to make organizations of people

with disabilities significant in local

Kuya Boys second lifeTrees and houses blurred togreen and brown.

Lean and thirsty for speed, 42-year

-old Angelito Donaldo Roxas (also

known as Kuya Boy) was zooming

on a motorbike across Laguna

province one sultry day in March

2008. He was on his annual

pilgrimage to the Kamay ni Hesus

(Hand of Jesus) shrine in Lucban.

Suddenly he felt he needed to pee.

So he thought of stopping by the

next gasoline station.

But before he could reach it, the

left side of his body lost all sense of

feeling. He couldnt move it. Kuya

Boy panicked. His heart was beating

fast, his mind reeling. But knew he

wouldnt be able to stop without

getting an injury. So he considered

colliding to a soft object to avoid a

worse way to crash. The

speedometer indicated he was fast

theres a tricycle on the roadside it

must be the least dangerous object to

collide on CRASH!

***

Now 49, Kuya Boy looks back to

that day that could have been hislast.

My heart stopped beating three

times! he says, recalling his

familys tales from the emergency

room. Thats why I asked God

what it was that he wanted me to

dowhy he still kept me alive.

A year after he became paralyzed,

his question was answered. In 2009,Kuya Boy was invited to become

part of the pioneering federation of

persons with disabilities associationsPURPOSE DRIVEN Kuya Boy nds fulllment in being a family man and serving his fellow

persons with disabilies. Photo: Daryl Zamora / Handicap Internaonal

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

My heart

stopped

beating

three times!


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Gallery8


1. Baras Mayor Kathrine KCRobles

formally opens an exhibit at the Municipal

Hall in celebraon of the Internaonal Day

of Persons with Disabilies last December.

2. Handicap Internaonal Inclusion Advisor

Edward Ello (right) facilitates an accessibility

audit during a seminar last year. 3.Parcipants of a disaster risk reducon and

management training collaborate during a

workshop. 4. BFPWDAI Secretary Ruben

Moral awards prizes to winners of an art

contest during the Naonal Disability

Prevenon and Rehabilitaon Week

celebraon last year. 5. Jessica Cox visits

one of the REBUILD Projects beneciaries.

6. In a forum with the BFPWDAI, an ocer

of the Maka Federaon of Persons with

Disabilies shares her organizaons

experience in collaborang with the local

government.

1

2

3

4

5

6


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Features 9


First, it is a way to improve her

interpersonal skills and confidence.

Part of the job is to visit people with

disabilities in Baras.

I talk to them about the basic

concepts on disability, she says.

Doing this has helped her to become

more understanding with people

particularly persons with disabilities

and challenged her to be more

creative when communicating to

them.

Second, it is helping her to

understand better her 20-year-old

sister, Hyacinth, who has a hearing

impairment. Im now able to help

her more, Honey Lyn says.

Hyacinth is studying information

technology at the University of Rizal

System in Morong, Rizal. Indeed it

was Hyacinth who inspired Honey

Lyn to volunteer as a Peer Educator.

And third, being a peer educator is

expanding the reach of her

community service.

Having a bachelors degree in

math, majoring in computer science,

Honey Lyn is now teaching math

and computer skills to kids at a

private school in Cardona, Rizal.

But that is not enough for her

generous heart. On weekends, she

tries her best to be available to

whatever activity or visiting

session she needs to do as a peer

educator.

Before I was hired as a teacher, I

had all the time to attend the

REBUILD Projects activities,

particularly seminars and

trainings, she says. But now that

Im teaching on weekdays, I look

forward to any weekend activity

that I would have to do.

For Honey Lyn, being a peer

educator is truly fulfilling. You

tell [people with disabilities] about

the advantages of having a Person

with Disability ID card, she says.

You tell them about the benefits of

the card. And you impart to them a

sense of belonging, of not being

alone.

Today Honey Lyns enthusiasm

is such that she plans to follow a

career path specializing on

educating children with disabilities.

I want to become a good

teacher, and if given the

opportunity, I would like to focus

on providing Special Education

(SpEd), she says. She has big

dreams to advance the rights of

people with disabilities in the

Philippines, especially in

education. So perhaps killing three

birds with one stone is a wrong

metaphor. Honey Lyn wants to fly.

Of teaching and learningFor 25-year-old Honey Lyn Ruiz, being a volunteer peer educator under the

REBUILD Project allows her to kill not two but three birds with one stone.

[By being a peer

educator of people

with disabilities],

you impart to them a

sense of belonging,

of not being alone.

DEDICATED Honey Lyn Ruiz commits her

me to teaching her young students at a

private grade school, as well as peoplewith disabilies in Baras. Photo: Daryl

Zamora / Handicap Internaonal

Honey Lyn has big

dreams to advance

the rights of people

with disabilities

in the Philippines,

especially in

education.


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policy-making Kuya Boy and the

Project worked on laying thegroundwork in the first few months.

They conducted seminars and focus

group sessions to gather preliminary

data. They burned midnight candles

to live up to the mission of Kuya

Boys second take on life.

Today, says Kuya Boy, the

BFPWDAI has already achieved

significant improvement in

promoting disability rights in Baras.

Thanks to the REBUILD Projects

constant support through seminars

and workshops, the federation now

has considerable influence even in

local government. TheMunicipality of Baras has formally

recognized the federation and has

heeded their call for a more

accessible municipal hall.

(Recently the town halls entrance

ramp was renovated better to

adhere to current standards of

accessibility.) The group has also

embarked on a continuous

awareness campaign around town.

According to Kuya Boy, the

biggest difference he sees between

Baras before the REBUILD Project

became too expensive to sustain.

She needed another enterprise which

did not require her to travel so far to

buy materials.

With the help of Handicap

Internationals REBUILD Project

which assists people with disabilities

in finding jobs or setting up their

own small businesses Jessebel

was soon able to identify a new

business: street food vending. That

business wouldnt be as demanding

as rag-making, but would likely be

more profitable.

Jessebel went through some

orientation talks and consultation

with the REBUILD Project. Soon

she decided to apply for a loan from

REBUILD Project partners SEED

Center Philippines, Inc. and

Entrepreneurs du Monde for her

street-food business. Late last year,

she received the money from the

Project, with which she bought a

cart and her first fishballs, hotdogs,

and kikiam for sale.

Today Jessebel cannot say that

her familys life has improved by

leaps and bounds, but she says it is

significantly better than before. She

now earns more aside from the

fact that her husband has also found

a less unstable job at a construction

site in a neighboring city. This

helps a lot in paying her loan

punctually.

My kids can already ask for

things which they couldnt before.

Now they can also pay for certain

projects in school, she says.

With the REBUILD Projects

focus on holistic development

among its beneficiaries, Jessebel is

also expecting to have her hips

checked. She has also signed up in

the public registry of persons with

disabilities; this allows her to

receive privileges such as discounted

prices of medicines, transportation,

and some basic commodities.

It is now almost 3:30 pm, when

Jessebel already has to move to a

different location to avoid a

competitor nearby who opens shop

at this time. As she begins to prepare

her cart for the trip, Jessebel finds

one of her sons arriving from school.

When mother and son embrace, you

immediately learn what keeps

Jessebel and her cart going.

came and Baras today is the level of

awareness that even remote

communities have regarding

disability. He also notes that in 2009

only about 360 people with

disabilities registered as such in the

federation, but today almost 700 arealready due to be given ID cards as

persons with disabilities.

Truly, lifes great mysteries such

as accident and illness can only be

unraveled when taking the big

picture. People with disabilities in

Baras should be thankful Kuya Boy

leapt from feeling sorry for his

personal tragedy to fulfilling a

mission of advancing the rights and

welfare of his townspeople,

particularly persons with disabilities

like himself.

A cartful of hopeCONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

Kuya Boys second...CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

Features10



11/12

investment in people with

disabilities in the Philippines

following disasters, Jessicasaid. I

saw HIs emergency work in

Tacloban, and heard many people

who were feeling uncertain about

their futures and were hoping to find

employment so they can rebuild

their lives. In Baras, I saw how HI is

rebuilding lives and teaching people

with disabilities business skills, and

connecting them with loans and

employment opportunities. In a way,

HIs coming in to a community is

the silver lining of these typhoons.

Funded by Swiss Solidarity and

the European Union and in

partnership with the Baras

Federation of Persons with

Disabilities Associations Inc., LocalGovernment Unit of

Baras, Tahanang Walang

Hagdanan, SEED Center

Philippines, and Entrepreneurs du

Monde the REBUILD Project

strives to support 250 families in

Baras. Together these organizations

help provide the economic, social,

and psychosocial needs of the

beneficiaries, who may be peoplewith disabilities, elderly persons, or

single women who head their

households.

Before she visited the

beneficiaries, Jessica Cox also met

with the town officials led by Baras

Mayor Kathrine KC Robles. The

mayor surprised Jessica with a brass

band and a welcoming program on

her arrival at the Municipal Hall.

They also had a brief discussion on

the REBUILD Projects work with

the local government.

Worlds 1st armless pilot visits...CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

AFTER ONDOY With the help of an interpreter, Jessica Cox asks quesons on how people

with disabilies who were vicms of tropical storm Ondoy have recovered and gained a

new livelihood.

News 11


MINI-JESSICA Jessica Cox thanks a group of girls who made a rubber Jessica doll. Baras

Mayor Kathrine KC Robles (center) and Jessicas husband, Patrick Chamberlain, look on.

Photo: Daryl Zamora / Handicap Internaonal

In Baras, I saw how HI is rebuilding

lives and teaching people with disabilities

business skills, and connecting them with

loans and employment opportunities.


12/12

Handicap International, through

the REBUILD Project, celebrated

the International Day of Persons

with Disabilities (IDPD) last

December 3.

A livelihood and inclusive local

development project, the REBUILD

Project organized an interactive

exhibit composed of miniature

buildings (or scale models) with

accessible facilities. The displays

also included colorful posters on the

rights of people with disabilities.

Baras Mayor Kathrine KC

Robles graced the event and called

on everyone to recognize the dignity

and capabilities of persons with

disabilities.

Officers of the Baras Federation of

Persons with Disabilities

Associations, Inc. also delivered

short talks during the flag ceremony

held at the Municipal Hall grounds.

A motorcade around town also

made the celebration more festive. It

featured a jingle advocating an

inclusive society.

REBUILD Project celebrates IDPD

Teams composed of people with and without disabilities battled to

grab the championship in this years Access 2020 Race to Success

Adventure RaceYear 2.

In celebration of the International Day for Persons with Disabilities, the

competition took the teams around Metro Manila to accomplish certain

tasks such as cleaning a hotel bedroom and making chocolates.

Aiming to promote the rights of people with disabilities, Handicap

International co-organized the contest with Tahanang Walang Hagdanan.

A fun run was also held and attended by thousands.

Racing towards success

EXHIBIT Baras Mayor Kathrine KC Robles formally opened the interacve exhibit at the Municipal Hall in celebraon of theInternaonal Day for Persons with Disabilies last December. Photo: Daryl Zamora / Handicap Internaonal

CHOCOLATE FACTORY Handicap Internaonals team competes in the

Adventure Race. Photo: Handicap Internaonal

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