Together to Get There
10 years
"We, Thought many, are on body in Christ." (Rom 12: 4-5)
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Person With Disabilities Day (PWD)
Together to Get There
10 years
"We, Thought many, are on body in Christ." (Rom 12: 4-5)
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Deaf Festival: BEST OF 15 YEARS
Hi everyone! Please watch here. We would like to invite you in Deaf Festival on November 16 to 21, 2009.
Deaf Festival: BEST OF 15 YEARS
Hi everyone! Please watch here. We would like to invite you in Deaf Festival on November 16 to 21, 2009.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
On top of the heap
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
On top of the heap
By INA HERNANDO-MALIPOT
Many people had been awed upon hearing that a deaf girl graduated magna
cum laude. But that sense of awe quickly turned to inspiration when that
same girl delivered a memorable commencement speech in behalf of her
class using merely her hands – and her heart.
Last week, 23-year-old Ana Kristina Arce was all over the news for being
the first deaf student to graduate magna cum laude from the De La Salle-
College of Saint Benilde School. Ana also received the Community Service
award for volunteering to serve in various school programs, as well as
for being the the president of the Benildean Deaf Association, the DLS-
CSB student council, the Lasallian Ministry Program for the Deaf, and
the Summer of Service Program. Ana was also one of the four student
ambassadors in the Summer Leadership Institute in PEN-International,
participated in the 12th Deaf Festival, Immaculate Conception Parish for
outreach program, relief operations for typhoon Ondoy victims and For-
the-Kids mini olympics.
GROWING UP
Ana was born deaf after her mother Vilma was infected by the rubella
virus during her pregnancy. But losing baby Ana was not an option. Vilma
pushed through with the pregnancy and gave birth to Ana on
1986
Seemingly a normal baby at first because she could react to noises, Ana
soon showed signs of deafness when she turned 11 months old.
At the age of two, Ana was enrolled at the Maria Lena Buhay Foundation,
an oral school, where she learned to speak and read lips.
“I learned sign language at age seven and it was easy for me to adjust
to communicate in sign language,” she says.
Being active in the deaf community, her sense of belonging made coping a
lot easier. It also helps that a lot of modern forms of communication
have become available “I can communicate with hearing people using
written communication, e-mail communication, SMS or text,” she says.
Also making things a lot easy for her is a sign language interpreter who
is helpful during interviews, seminars, classes, conferences and
All these make Ana feel no different at all!
MAKING THE BEST OUT OF SCHOOLING
For most people who are differently-abled, studying poses a major
problem and a lot of adjustments in many aspects have to be made. But
for Ana, schooling was bliss. “My parents were always supportive of me
especially with my going to school,” she says.
Looking for a school that would suit Ana’s needs was also something
that needed careful consideration. Her parents enrolled her both in
special and regular schools such as the Philippine Institute for the
Deaf, Philippine Normal University, and UP South to check if any of
these would be ideal for her. Unfortunately, adjustment at these said
schools did not come easy. Her parents then enlisted her at the
Philippine School for the Deaf where sign language is used as the medium
of communication through high school. In her senior year, Ana was
transferred to a private school for the deaf where she finished with
academic honors.
Still, Ana believed there were so much to be accomplished. “Even if I
am deaf, I did not consider deafness as an obstacle to pursuing my dream
of going to college and maybe a master’s degree,” she says.
As a child, Ana always wanted to be a painter. Her inclination towards
the arts pushed her to take up Bachelor in Applied Deaf Studies course
with specialization in Multimedia Arts in DLS-CSB. “I wanted to know
how I could do my best as a deaf person while pursuing my special skills
in multimedia arts,” she says.
She went to the right school indeed as DLS-CSB has a diverse group of
people who made her feel welcome. The School of Deaf Education and
Applied Studies or SDEAS, a department exclusively for deaf students
where the Filipino sign language (FSL) is used as a medium of
communication, also helped Ana in her adjustment,
It also helped that at CSB, the hearing student population is encouraged
to learn sign language through the Filipino Sign Language program. The
program urges hearing students get a deaf buddy especially in extra-
curricular activities to get to know deaf students better.
BEING AN ADVOCATE FOR THE DEAF
Ana says that despite the increasing awareness on people with special
needs, misconceptions about the deaf remains.
For instance the use of the terms “hearing impairment” and “deaf mute
” when referring to them is offensive, she says, because that term
means deaf people’s ears are impaired but they are actually not. “Most
people call us deaf mute but we are not mute. We are simply deaf and can
’t talk because we do not hear what other people say. We are not mute
because our tongues are normal.’’
Ana dreams of writing a book about the aspirations of the deaf. She
implores parents who have deaf kids not to force them to undergo
cochlear implants. “Most of the hearing parents want their deaf
children to learn how to speak so some of them make them wear a cochlear
implant although it’s not always successful. But if kids wear this,
they can’t just participate in physical activities like basketball,
swimming in deep level, and others,’’ she explains.
The best medium of communication, she believes, is still sign language.
Ana also hopes that in the future, hearing teachers of the deaf would
become aware of natural sign language especially in public and private
primary and secondary schools. “Filipino Sign Language should be
promoted as the primary means of communication for the deaf community. I
’m sure deaf children will learn their lessons fast if they use this as
the medium of communication just like me,” she ends.
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/228513/on-top-heap
--
**********************************************************
Institute of Developing Economies, JETRO
Inter-disciplinary Studies Center
Poverty Alleviation and Social Development Studies Group
Deputy Director & Professor (IDEAS)
Senior Research Fellow
MORI, Soya
3-2-2, Wakaba, Mihama-ku, Chiba-shi,261-8545
Chiba, Japan
E-mail: soya_mori@ide.go.jp
Homepage: http://www.ide.go.jp/
Fax: 0+81-43-299-9548
*********************************************************
On top of the heap
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
On top of the heap
By INA HERNANDO-MALIPOT
Many people had been awed upon hearing that a deaf girl graduated magna
cum laude. But that sense of awe quickly turned to inspiration when that
same girl delivered a memorable commencement speech in behalf of her
class using merely her hands – and her heart.
Last week, 23-year-old Ana Kristina Arce was all over the news for being
the first deaf student to graduate magna cum laude from the De La Salle-
College of Saint Benilde School. Ana also received the Community Service
award for volunteering to serve in various school programs, as well as
for being the the president of the Benildean Deaf Association, the DLS-
CSB student council, the Lasallian Ministry Program for the Deaf, and
the Summer of Service Program. Ana was also one of the four student
ambassadors in the Summer Leadership Institute in PEN-International,
participated in the 12th Deaf Festival, Immaculate Conception Parish for
outreach program, relief operations for typhoon Ondoy victims and For-
the-Kids mini olympics.
GROWING UP
Ana was born deaf after her mother Vilma was infected by the rubella
virus during her pregnancy. But losing baby Ana was not an option. Vilma
pushed through with the pregnancy and gave birth to Ana on
1986
Seemingly a normal baby at first because she could react to noises, Ana
soon showed signs of deafness when she turned 11 months old.
At the age of two, Ana was enrolled at the Maria Lena Buhay Foundation,
an oral school, where she learned to speak and read lips.
“I learned sign language at age seven and it was easy for me to adjust
to communicate in sign language,” she says.
Being active in the deaf community, her sense of belonging made coping a
lot easier. It also helps that a lot of modern forms of communication
have become available “I can communicate with hearing people using
written communication, e-mail communication, SMS or text,” she says.
Also making things a lot easy for her is a sign language interpreter who
is helpful during interviews, seminars, classes, conferences and
All these make Ana feel no different at all!
MAKING THE BEST OUT OF SCHOOLING
For most people who are differently-abled, studying poses a major
problem and a lot of adjustments in many aspects have to be made. But
for Ana, schooling was bliss. “My parents were always supportive of me
especially with my going to school,” she says.
Looking for a school that would suit Ana’s needs was also something
that needed careful consideration. Her parents enrolled her both in
special and regular schools such as the Philippine Institute for the
Deaf, Philippine Normal University, and UP South to check if any of
these would be ideal for her. Unfortunately, adjustment at these said
schools did not come easy. Her parents then enlisted her at the
Philippine School for the Deaf where sign language is used as the medium
of communication through high school. In her senior year, Ana was
transferred to a private school for the deaf where she finished with
academic honors.
Still, Ana believed there were so much to be accomplished. “Even if I
am deaf, I did not consider deafness as an obstacle to pursuing my dream
of going to college and maybe a master’s degree,” she says.
As a child, Ana always wanted to be a painter. Her inclination towards
the arts pushed her to take up Bachelor in Applied Deaf Studies course
with specialization in Multimedia Arts in DLS-CSB. “I wanted to know
how I could do my best as a deaf person while pursuing my special skills
in multimedia arts,” she says.
She went to the right school indeed as DLS-CSB has a diverse group of
people who made her feel welcome. The School of Deaf Education and
Applied Studies or SDEAS, a department exclusively for deaf students
where the Filipino sign language (FSL) is used as a medium of
communication, also helped Ana in her adjustment,
It also helped that at CSB, the hearing student population is encouraged
to learn sign language through the Filipino Sign Language program. The
program urges hearing students get a deaf buddy especially in extra-
curricular activities to get to know deaf students better.
BEING AN ADVOCATE FOR THE DEAF
Ana says that despite the increasing awareness on people with special
needs, misconceptions about the deaf remains.
For instance the use of the terms “hearing impairment” and “deaf mute
” when referring to them is offensive, she says, because that term
means deaf people’s ears are impaired but they are actually not. “Most
people call us deaf mute but we are not mute. We are simply deaf and can
’t talk because we do not hear what other people say. We are not mute
because our tongues are normal.’’
Ana dreams of writing a book about the aspirations of the deaf. She
implores parents who have deaf kids not to force them to undergo
cochlear implants. “Most of the hearing parents want their deaf
children to learn how to speak so some of them make them wear a cochlear
implant although it’s not always successful. But if kids wear this,
they can’t just participate in physical activities like basketball,
swimming in deep level, and others,’’ she explains.
The best medium of communication, she believes, is still sign language.
Ana also hopes that in the future, hearing teachers of the deaf would
become aware of natural sign language especially in public and private
primary and secondary schools. “Filipino Sign Language should be
promoted as the primary means of communication for the deaf community. I
’m sure deaf children will learn their lessons fast if they use this as
the medium of communication just like me,” she ends.
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/228513/on-top-heap
--
**********************************************************
Institute of Developing Economies, JETRO
Inter-disciplinary Studies Center
Poverty Alleviation and Social Development Studies Group
Deputy Director & Professor (IDEAS)
Senior Research Fellow
MORI, Soya
3-2-2, Wakaba, Mihama-ku, Chiba-shi,261-8545
Chiba, Japan
E-mail: soya_mori@ide.go.jp
Homepage: http://www.ide.go.jp/
Fax: 0+81-43-299-9548
*********************************************************
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Ana Kristina Macasaet Arce's Graduation speech
Brother President Victor Franco FSC, Vice Chancellors, Assistant Vice Chancellors, Deans, Administrators, Faculty, Parents, Sign Language Interpreters, Guests, fellow graduates, and the Benildean Community, Good Morning.
Let me begin my speech with this passage from the Holy Scriptures, found in Jeremiah 18, and I quote …”And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it”. In pottery, the potter places a mold of clay on a table and the potter turns it around carefully. Using his hands, the potter will repeat the process several times until he gets the perfect shape. As hands are important to a potter, hands are also important to us, Deaf persons. Our main source of communication is through the use of our hands, we talk and express ourselves through them. And just like the potter whose hands make the perfect creation, we also hope to get the best if not the perfect performance for ourselves using our hands. With our hands, we can go places, change lives and make a difference.
I was born Deaf, and when my parents discovered this, like most hearing parents of Deaf children, they felt that the only way for me to survive was if I learned to speak and so they enrolled me in different oral schools where I had to wear hearing aids and learn how to lip read. I was enrolled in four different oral schools and we tried to find something workable that would fit. I tried my best in these schools but still it wasn’t easy for me to adjust. And then my parents thought of trying it out in a school for the Deaf and they enrolled me at the Philippine School for the Deaf where sign language is used as the medium of communication. I quickly adjusted and started doing well in my academics, and received several awards in grade school and I was also the class valedictorian of my batch. I was also an achiever all throughout high school and even if I transferred to a Deaf private school during my senior year I still managed to finish with academic honors.
And then came College, during my first year I was enrolled in another college where Deaf and hearing college students were together in class. I found the experience to be more saddening than exciting. I often cried because my hearing classmates would exclude me in meetings and group projects, maybe because they thought I will not be able to understand them and communicate with them. I struggled to adjust and tried to show my hearing peers what I can do but they never gave me a chance to prove myself to them. Do you want to feel useless? I’m sure you don’t and neither do I or any other Deaf person for that matter. I tried to think that maybe my classmates were doing this because they have big hearts and are trying to understand me and make things easier for me, but I ended up frustrated and I was the one left trying to understand them. Before the end of the first semester, I had set my mind to move to another school, this time, one that offers a program for Deaf students.
And so it was through the efforts of my mother that we found DLS-CSB’s
If you go around the different high schools for the Deaf I am sure that all of the students there will say that they all wish to go to college. However, very few schools offer quality education and those that do, are expensive schools, and most of the Deaf cannot afford to pay the high cost of tuition and fees. And aside from that most people, sad to say even some parents of Deaf students, assume that because we are Deaf we cannot succeed in college so better not send us to school. For students like us, going to school is no walk in the park. We often need to rely on kind-hearted teachers and interpreters to understand the lessons. Getting an education is a big challenge for us.
And so I am thankful to DLS-CSB for opening its doors and welcoming the Deaf regardless of our disability. We have learned so much from this school and we can now proudly say that we are complete Deaf persons and we now embody the teachings of Saint Benilde Romançon.
I especially wish to thank Br. Vic for his utmost concern for the Deaf and his big heart by increasing the number of slots for Deaf scholars from 30 to 60 students starting the school year of 2008-2009. My sincere thanks and appreciation to all of you hearing students for your willingness to interact with us and for making us feel that we are not an isolated group and that we can also be active participants in school activities and be a useful bunch of interesting students. That we, the Deaf students, are your peers…your equals.
At this point, allow me to make an appeal to all the hearing students and guests of this occasion. We may be Deaf persons but we can also do anything you can do, except hear. Communicating with our hands should not make a difference. We live in one country, one world. That means we also long for respect, inclusion in accessibility, and acceptance with dignity. We are not a different breed because of our disability. We also want to live in a society where people will not stare or frown at us or treat us differently. We are also human beings and we are similar regardless of our disability. Please allow us to show you what we can do; please, believe in us too. Let us prove to you that yes, the DEAF CAN. Dear fellow graduates, I hope that when you have established yourselves in the companies you are working for, or if you have successfully put up your own business, please remember the Deaf Benildeans who may need your help in advocating our skills and capabilities, remember us and other Deaf graduates who may have the talents and potentials to be a part of your companies and contribute to its growth.
To all our teachers, you are part of this achievement we are reaping today. You painstakingly taught us all the tools we would need to make us productive individuals and showed us the way towards academic independence. You instilled in us the core values of upright citizens and we will forever treasure our years with you in our hearts. To our parents, thank you for your patience and perseverance, for your selfless understanding of our endless needs, and your unconditional love and care that carried us through our countless years of struggle to get the degree that we received today. My utmost gratitude go to my own parents, Ramon and Vilma Arce, who loved, cared, and gave me all the support that enables me to stand before all of you today. We, the Deaf students, also wish to offer our sincerest thanks to all our interpreters with generous hearts, who are willing to serve the Deaf in assisting us in our communication needs.
I would like to enjoin my fellow graduates, especially my hearing batchmates, to always keep the Benildean Core Values in our hearts. Guided by these values, we can definitely scale to great heights. Let us never forget the people who made our presence here possible. Let us always remember the values of sharing and selflessness so that when we look back, we can proudly say that we lived a meaningful life and we made a difference in the lives of other people.
Graduation is not the end. It’s only the beginning of another journey towards a higher level of learning. Don’t be afraid to dream, for it can be the first step to achieving our goals. Always remember that with patience and hard work, success will be within our reach. The biggest challenge for all of us is to overcome our fears and uncertainty.
For those of you who still have doubts about your potentials, let me and my Deaf batchmates be the living testament of what we can all become despite our limitations. In previous years, only a handful of Deaf students would graduate every year. Today, 25 of my Deaf batchmates received our diploma, the biggest number so far, and this is a testament of our four years of struggle to attain our academic degree. I am probably the first Deaf Filipino Magna Cum Laude graduate, and I am not saying this to brag about my achievement. I am humbly sharing this with you to thank God, my potter, for molding me, His clay, into a wonderful human being. I believe we can reach our maximum potentials no matter what challenges we face in life, because God is our potter and we are his clay.
To all my fellow graduates, Congratulations and Good Luck! Remember to always be Proud To Be Benildeans and to always live Jesus in our hearts.
--------------------------------------
Ana would appreciate your comments.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
SDEAS Business Track students tour Gardenia Factory
Last Aug 7, 2009, ENGLICOM, the Filipino-Chinese student organization of DLSU-M, sponsored a tour of the Gardenia Factory in Laguna for SDEAS Business Track students.
The ENGLICOM members and SDEAS students were treated with a video presentation of how Gardenia started and how it grew to be a very successful company today. The video emphasized on Gardenia’s corporate values and commitment to Quality and Consistency in every bread they make. After the video presentation the students were toured around the vast bread factory. The students were fascinated by how big the operation was and how quality is maintained in each stage of the baking process up until the bread is packed and delivered to the customers. The factory tour ended with a visit to the bread shop where visitors could buy different Gardenia products at discounted prices.
After the Gardenia factory tour, the group headed back to
At the end of the day, the students were all tired and some were dirty with mud but both the Deaf and the Hearing students learned something new and surely had a great time. This partnership of SDEAS with ENGLICOM shows that we could all learn from each other if we just set aside our differences and celebrate our similarities.
Written by: Jason Quiñones
SDEAS Business Track students tour Gardenia Factory
Last Aug 7, 2009, ENGLICOM, the Filipino-Chinese student organization of DLSU-M, sponsored a tour of the Gardenia Factory in Laguna for SDEAS Business Track students.
The ENGLICOM members and SDEAS students were treated with a video presentation of how Gardenia started and how it grew to be a very successful company today. The video emphasized on Gardenia’s corporate values and commitment to Quality and Consistency in every bread they make. After the video presentation the students were toured around the vast bread factory. The students were fascinated by how big the operation was and how quality is maintained in each stage of the baking process up until the bread is packed and delivered to the customers. The factory tour ended with a visit to the bread shop where visitors could buy different Gardenia products at discounted prices.
After the Gardenia factory tour, the group headed back to
At the end of the day, the students were all tired and some were dirty with mud but both the Deaf and the Hearing students learned something new and surely had a great time. This partnership of SDEAS with ENGLICOM shows that we could all learn from each other if we just set aside our differences and celebrate our similarities.
Written by: Jason Quiñones
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSION:
Lessons from Riku Virtanen
Riku Virtanen is a Deaf-Blind lawyer from
Finland and currently the Vice President of the Threshold Association,
a group that advocates for independent living and human rights.
Augusto-Rosario Gonzales Theater,
5th floor De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde,
2544 Taft Ave, Manila
2544 Taft Ave, Manila
June 30, 2009
9:30 am - 11:30 am
For Inquiries:
email : sdeas.opd@gmail.com
text: 09162657558
text: 09162657558
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSION:
Lessons from Riku Virtanen
Riku Virtanen is a Deaf-Blind lawyer from
Finland and currently the Vice President of the Threshold Association,
a group that advocates for independent living and human rights.
Finland and currently the Vice President of the Threshold Association,
a group that advocates for independent living and human rights.
Augusto-Rosario Gonzales Theatre (5th floor),
College of Saint Benilde, Taft Ave, Manila
June 30, 2009
9:30 am - 11:30 am
For Inquiries,
email : sdeas.opd@gmail.com
cellphone: 09162657558
Friday, May 29, 2009
Study Sign Language and Open Opportunities!
Reach Out to More People!
Discover the uniqueness of Deaf Culture!
SIGN UP FOR FILIPINO SIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES
at the De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB)
Classes are held three hours a week for 14 weeks and are conducted
Reach Out to More People!
Discover the uniqueness of Deaf Culture!
SIGN UP FOR FILIPINO SIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES
at the De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB)
Classes are held three hours a week for 14 weeks and are conducted
by Deaf teachers.
Choose from the following schedule are: Mon/Wed/Fri, or Mon/Fri, or Tues/Thurs, or Sat.
Course fee : Php 2,400.00 (plus Php 535 for those who do not have a
Choose from the following schedule are: Mon/Wed/Fri, or Mon/Fri, or Tues/Thurs, or Sat.
Course fee : Php 2,400.00 (plus Php 535 for those who do not have a
DLS-CSB Generic ID).
For inquiries, please contact the Filipino Sign Language Learning Program
For inquiries, please contact the Filipino Sign Language Learning Program
(FSLLP) unit at the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies (SDEAS)
office at 526-7441 Local 131 by ENROLLMENT EXTENDED TO JUNE 26,2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
SDEAS and KNU Cultural Exchange Program
SDEAS and KNU Cultural Exchange Program Feb 9,2009
SDEAS and KNU Cultural Exchange Program Feb 10,2009
SDEAS and KNU Cultural Exchange Program Feb 11,2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde welcomes Korea Nazarene University (KNU) in a cultural exchange program with the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies (SDEAS) from February 8 to February 12, 2009.
Korea Nazarene University sent 18 delegates composed of 14 Deaf students, 2 faculty and 2 Korean Sign Language interpreters to learn about Filipino culture, Filipino Deaf Culture and the SDEAS programs.
SDEAS prepared activities that will facilitate interaction among students and faculty from both schools. An exhibit of the best works of SDEAS and KNU students can be viewed at the PEN-International Multimedia Learning Center lobby.
13 Korean students of DLS-CSB's Consular and Diplomatic Affairs Program volunteered as interpreters to translate spoken Korean to spoken English and vice versa. SDEAS and KNU are Post-secondary Education Network International (PEN-International) partner institutions.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Hand Y Craft
Hand Y Craft
A weaving of a partnership between the YES-Deaf and BUKAL Cooperative.
Hand Y Craft is a showcase of traditional to modern application of Filipino embroidery techniques in clothes. Women embroiderers from Lumban, Laguna embroidered intricate designs in traditional barongs and T-shirts to be modeled by Deaf students of the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies (SDEAS).
Hand Y Craft aims to open up livelihood opportunities and sustainable
business practice for local artisans of Lumban while staying true to their
traditions, culture and heritage.
The Youth Entreployment Support for the Deaf (YES-Deaf) Project of SDEAS with the Deaf Benildeans Multi-purpose Cooperative serves as the marketing arm of BUKAL Koop for their embroidery products.
Special guest is Mr. Rick Bennet who served as consultant for a similar socially responsive art & design project launched in May 2008 called
[re]frame Manila. The artwork is now on display at the foyer of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde School of Design and Arts Building.
About Rick Bennet
Rick Bennet is the founder and director of the Omnium Research Group and a professor of the College of Fine Arts in the University of New South Wales. Omnium is engaged in projects that are of community,
environment and social benefit including design work created for aid and support of Sri Lanka, Timor Leste and Kenya. He is also a visiting professor of the School for Design and Arts at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. As visiting professor, he was involved in the [re]frame Manila project, that brings traditional embroidery process into a new and modern context.
About BUKAL Koop
Bayanihan sa pagpaUnlad ng Kabuhayan at Lapian Multipurpose
Cooperative (Cooperation towards the development of livelihood and
organization) is a cooperative established by SADAMALU, Pinagkaisahang Magbuburda ng Lumban (PML), and the Business Skills Development and Resource Center (Microfinance Program of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde)
About the Deaf Benildeans Multi-purpose Cooperative
DBMC is the cooperative of students and alumni from the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. Currently, they operate a coffee shop inside the campus and is the
marketing center of products created and developed by the Deaf. They are the beneficiaries of the Youth Entre-ployment Support for
the Deaf (YES-Deaf) Project, a project funded by AusAID’s
Philippines-Australia Community Assistance
Program (PACAP).
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
SDEAS joins For The Kids 2009
THE SUN HAS NOT YET RISEN at 5:30 am on January 18, 2009 but 26 students, faculty and staff of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies (DLS-CSB SDEAS) braved the cold early morning breeze to line up at the North Gate of De La Salle University-Manila. No, it is not enrollment day. It’s For The Kids 2009.
For The Kids is an annual mini-olympics for children with special needs organized by the Center for Social Concern and Action (COSCA) of De La Salle University-Manila’s Lasallian Outreach Volunteer Effort (LOVE) Program. Every January, 600 children with special needs from different centers and schools gather at DLSU-Manila to play games such as softball throwing, standing long jump, running, marathon, relay, and basketball shooting.
SDEAS volunteers were assigned as “Ate” (sister) and “Kuya” (brother) of Deaf kids from Rosa L. Susano Elementary School. The day started with the celebration of the Holy Mass which was made more accessible to the Deaf participants and volunteers through the help of volunteer interpreters Ms. Rubylee De Castro and Mr. Leo Cabasag and Deaf Lectors Anaditha Angcay and Ana Arce. The Mass was a fitting celebration of the Feast of the Sto. Niño since For The Kids is a celebration of the uniqueness of Filipino children with special needs.
After the mass, the Deaf kids were excited to start joining the games assigned to them. The heat of the morning sun did not stop the kids and their assigned Ate and Kuya to join games such as Tennis Ball Throw (TBT), Standing Long Jump (SLJ), and 75-50-25 meter run. During breaks from the games, the children entertained the audience with their special performances. They performed with love which truly touched the hearts of the audience.
Even before lunch time, both the kids and Ates/Kuyas were already hungry from all the running and jumping at the open field. SDEAS’ very own DBMC Café catered the breakfast and lunch of SDEAS volunteers. The banana leaf-wrapped meals were gone in minutes as the volunteers satisfied their hungry stomachs. Over lunch, SDEAS students distributed bookmarks with sign alphabet which were eagerly received by parents of Deaf children and other volunteers.
There were more bonding opportunities in the afternoon as Ate/Kuya and the kids joined interactive games, told stories about each other’s lives and everyone’s favorite bonding activity --- getting their pictures taken at the Photo Booth!
By 3 p.m., Ates and Kuyas were very tired from taking care of the children but the happy smiles, hugs and kisses from the kids to show their appreciation for the loving service were more than enough to soothe away the tired muscles of everyone. Ates and Kuyas sent off the kids with the reminder to study hard, learn sign language and look forward to a bright future as their Deaf Ates and Kuyas await them at DLS-CSB SDEAS.
Photo and text contributor: John Jason Santos
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