Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Deaf Student Maltreated, Seriously Injured Over Fare Discount

JOHN EZRA CABALO, DEAF STUDENT OF DLS-CSB SDEAS, DIDN'T GO TO SCHOOL FOR DAYS AND FAILED TO FILE AN EXCUSE SLIP FOR HIS ABSENCE. Ezra was about to be declared AWOL when the school received a long letter from his distraught mother detailing the circumstance behind his prolonged leave. He broke a leg in an accident and the attending physician advised him to refrain from walking and lifting heavy objects for the next four weeks.




On the evening of January 28, Ezra fell down from the air-conditioned Green Star bus he was riding to the streets when the bus suddenly sped off just as he was alighting at a designated stop in Susana Heights, Muntinlupa City. Nobody helped him. Prior to the accident, the bus conductor refused to give Ezra the fare discount accorded to him by law (Republic Act 9442 Privileges and Incentives for Disabled Persons). He was instead charged the full fare and after realizing that Ezra could not hear, the conductor and the driver loudly made fun of him for the rest of the journey.



Despite the pain from his injured leg, Ezra managed to get to the market stall where his parents earn their keep as vendors. His family brought him to the Ospital ng Muntinlupa where he was diagnosed with a strained ligament on his right knee. From the hospital, they proceeded to file a formal complaint with the police that same evening. Ezra and his family went back to the hospital for X-ray and the attending physician told them that the X-ray results showed that Ezra sustained a fractured leg bone. Ezra was told not to carry heavy objects so the injured bone would heal faster. Ezra and his relatives proceeded to the National Orthopedic Center in Quezon City for a second opinion. The attending doctor at the Center found a crack instead on Ezra’s leg and expressed dismay that the physician at the previous hospital did not bother to put the injured leg in a cast, as is usually done with broken bones.



Ezra is on his way to recovery. Initially, he was advised that he can only move around on a wheelchair. Though tough on the family’s finances, they hired a van at Php 250/one-way trip to bring Ezra to school. Ezra is very eager not to miss classes since excess absences could affect his standing as a 100% scholar at DLS-CSB SDEAS. Strong-willed and determined to keep his scholarship, Ezra now limps his way from class to class.



The management of the offending bus company has yet to respond to the complaint lodged by Ezra’s family with the police. Ezra was able to write down the bus plate number (DLK-726) but the bus company allegedly denies that the plate number belongs to their bus. Two teachers who befriended Ezra after witnessing the incident with the bus conductor refused to serve as eyewitness to the case.





UPDATE: Upon checking with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) vehicle registration verification facility via text messaging (TXT 2600 for all networks), plate number DLK-726 is not a registered vehicle.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Young Star Girls of Summer

JACKIE O’ FLASH
By Bea J. Ledesma
Friday, April 11, 2008
Section H-4
The Philippine Star

YStyle is big on female empowerment, which is why we’re so eager to bring you Sunsilk’s four ambassadors. These four women found success on their own terms, earning their place in the world by taking charge of their lives and climbing the corporate ladder one progressive step at a time. Sunsilk’s latest campaign, which features icons like Madonna, BeyoncĂ© and Shakira, encourages women to assume responsibility for their own lives — to take the lead, take chances, take life by the horns. Meet the women who aren’t afraid to call out carpe diem on their own existence.


Diana Banas
Job: Chef’s aid

Few people overcome the hurdles they are born with. Diana is not one of them. Currently a success in her field (she’s slowly climbing the ladder of the culinary department of Manila Pen), she’s an example to people everywhere that anything is possible. Having been born Deaf, Diana grew up worrying over things that most take for granted. “Simple things like riding a jeep,” she says, become issues. “How will I pay? How will I get down the jeep?”

Challenges came her way every day. She experienced ridicule from her peers who made fun of her disability. Despite her dream of going to a certified cooking institution for college, she could only attend the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies (SDEAS). “Even if (the other school) wanted to accept me, they couldn’t because there is a lack of interpreters and teachers who know how to sign.”

But Diana took it all in stride, earning a place in student council in college, visiting the National Technical Institute of the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York as a student ambassador, and, later on, pursuing her dream of becoming a famous chef. Based on experience, she’s not afraid of aiming high — and setting a standard for people with the same disability.




“I hope that Deaf people who can’t find work will venture into business instead of just waiting for help from others and doing nothing at home. If we want equal rights with the rest of the people in society, we must also learn how to be responsible for ourselves instead of depending on charity,” she says. “And I hope that other Deaf people will have access to education so they can become productive members of society. I hope schools will open their doors to Deaf people because education will open opportunities for them, the same way it opened opportunities for me.”

Her take on the progressive Pinay: “Filipinas can make their life happen today because there are many doors of opportunities open to them. I know that they can succeed in any endeavor they venture into.”

STUDY SIGN LANGUAGE

This Summer,
LET YOUR HANDS SPEAK!

Enroll in
FILIPINO SIGN LANGUAGE

Summer Classes
for
KIDS and ADULTS
at
De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde
School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies

Take on a new challenge,
have FUN and make NEW FRIENDS!

Sign language is considered one of the most fascinating languages to learn.

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Reasons for Studying Sign Language:

1. Learning a new language helps build confidence
2. Being a bilingual or trilingual expands your cognitive processes
3. You can sign with your mouth full or talk through windows of restaurants or offices
4. Efficient gestural communication for professionals like scuba divers, firefighters, police officers, stock traders
5. Sign language might help public speakers become more at ease with their hand gestures
6. Pilots and astronauts in earphones and/or helmets can say their final words a bit more than a "thumbs-up" sign and smile
7. A patient with acute hearing/vocal loss in an accident can convey in signs to communicate what s/he feels, needs or wants.
8. Enriches culture and art when used in its naturally simultaneous, cinematic nature
9. Adds a dynamic spice to school-day and bedtime storytelling. Kids love it and are hooked!
10. Enhances performing arts in theatre and dance. It produces a live, richly imaginative cinematic-like narrative in 4-dimensional language.
11. You can be sure that nobody can overhear through doors, "whisper" in signs in a library or church, or lively talk in noisy bars and discos.
12. You can have an edge over the other contestants when you join The Amazing Race!

Reference: http://www.handspeak.com/

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REGISTRATION PERIOD
April 8-18, 2008
10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
April 16 – May 28

Kids (7-12 years old)
Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays
10:00 a.m.-12:00 nn

Filipino Sign Language Level 1 (for Adults)
Wednesdays & Fridays
2:00-5:00 p.m.

REGISTRATION FEE
Php 2,400

FOR INQUIRIES, CONTACT:
526-7441 to 47 local 131
balizaj@dls-csb.edu.ph

ENROLL NOW!!!