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).

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