Global Congress Morroco
Dear MA. THERESA J. MACAPAGAL
President
Special Olympics
Philippines
It was a pleasure meeting you during The SO Global Strategic Conference held in Marrakesh. ( Morocco ) , this month .
I very much appreciated the opportunity the conference gave to me to meet with you and to share thoughts and ideas on Special Olympics issues.
Best Regards
Sincerely,
Mohamed M Al Hameli
Chairman
U.A.E Special Olympics
<for more information click here> http://resources.specialolympics.org/globalcongress/
Cebu Pacific Discrimination
By: Alex P. Babst - National Executive Director
On Jan 6, 2010, while listening to the evening news on channel 2 (ABS-CBN) and later on channel 7 (GMA), I was shocked to discover in their news report that Cebu Pacific requested a mother, Mrs. Alcantara, to disembark together with her intellectually – challenged son from the plane on their flight home to Manila from Hongkong.
According to the news report, the cabin crew made the moronic request to Mrs. Alcantara on the grounds that her son was “a special child”. They further insulted her by implying that the child behaved in an insane manner.
May I request the NCDA board, through you, to demand for a full explanation from the management of Cebu Pacific and statements from the cabin crew members involved, as to why intellectually – challenged Filipino citizens and their accompanying relatives are denied the mundane necessity of using their carrier, after paying for a valid ticket to do so, without any restriction on the passenger’s intellectual status, be they normal or handicapped.
Unless the members of the Alcantara Family were classified on the Interpol Watchlist as confirmed members of a terrorist group such as Al Qaida or Abu Sayaff, which would be a valid reason for exclusion, I see no other legal and educated reason on the part of the cabin crew to make such a biased and impertinent request to a full paying customer.
This is a crude and disgusting abuse imposed on a less-fortunate citizen of our country who is entitled to the full protection of the laws of our country covering discrimination.
I am requesting that my disgust and anger at the policies of Cebu Pacific regarding the treatment of intellectually challenged Filipino citizens be placed on record and that the NCDA support me, as a parent of intellectually – challenged children, National Executive Director of Special Olympics Philippines and a member of the Board of Advisers of Asia Pacific Special Olympics and a Director of the Board of the National Council on Disability Affairs, in condemning the actions of Cebu Pacific personnel together with their management officers regarding the intellectually handicapped members of our society.
May I also inform you that Cebu Pacific was the airline that brought the Philippine delegation to the Special Olympics World Summer Games on their inaugural flight to Shanghai, China last October, 2007. If they had no problem with 30 “special athletes” on that flight then, why were they so particular about the presence of the son of Mrs. Alcantara.
The ignorance, stupidity and prejudice of the members of the cabin crew truly reflects on the very low hiring standards imposed by Cebu Pacific management and the training procedures followed by their likewise incompetent training supervisors.
Click for addtional information:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20100108-246117/Couple-to-file
http://www.kidsgrowth.com/resources/advicedetail.cfm?id=2136
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/181130/cebu-pacific-to-train-crews-on-handling-special-children
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/01/08/10/another-special-childs-mom-sue-cebu-pacific
BE A FAN OF HUMAN DIGNITY / ACCEPTANCE, COURAGE AND INTEGRITY
[ Top ]
2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games
By: Dacki P. Sandiego
FILIPINO SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN GLOBAL YOUTH ACTIVIATION SUMMIT DURING THE 2009 SPECIAL OLYMPICS WORLD WINTER GAMES
130 Youth Leaders to Meet in Boise, Idaho, from 7-13 February 2009 to Promote Acceptance and Understanding of People with Intellectual Disabilities Around the World
QUEZON CITY – DACKI P. SANDIEGO, a member of the Badminton Team of SO Philippines, was selected from among hundreds of applicants from around the world to participate in the fifth Global Youth Activation Summit on intellectual disabilities that will be held in conjunction with the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games from 7-13 February 2009. The summit will launch a new Special Olympics youth engagement initiative which positions young people as leaders for fostering inclusion in their schools and communities.
During the summit, Dacki and the other participants will attend youth-led leadership training programs, participate in interactive sports experiences and help host four live Webinars to connect with their peers internationally. Dacki will also serve as a journalist, writing blogs, developing podcasts and composing stories for publication and to be shared with home and school news outlets, posted to the Special Olympics Web site, posted to the 2009 World Winter Games Web site and shared through other social networking sites.
The youth leaders participating in the summit, aged 12 to 20, come from 22 nations, representing all seven Special Olympics regions and various educational levels including middle school, high school and some college. They will be paired– one Special Olympics athlete and a peer partner without an intellectual disability from the same community, state or country.
“Bringing together these students for the 2009 Global Youth Activation Summit is an important step as we work to eliminate stereotypes and change views about the capabilities and gifts of people with intellectual disabilities,” said Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver. “Special Olympics provides one of the greatest platforms in the world for acceptance and inclusion. It is our desire that this summit help Special Olympics become a leading cause among young people, and develop the next generation of world leaders.”
In addition to the activities during the week-long summit, Dacki will be part of a Global Youth Rally at the Taco Bell Arena on the campus of Boise State University on Monday, 9 February. The rally will bring together thousands of young people with and without intellectual disabilities from the Boise, Idaho, area and around the world. It will be an exciting multi-media event designed to help youth develop awareness and discuss current issues, as well as serve as a call to action for youth to promote inclusion and acceptance for all.
The 2009 Global Youth Activation Summit is the fifth such event to take place. The inaugural global summit took place in 2001 at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Alaska. Since then, there have been 37 youth summits at the global, national and regional levels, involving representatives from 150 Special Olympics Programs and more than 1,500 young leaders. For SO Philippines, Dacki is the first Filipino to participate in such global summit.
The 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games will bring together nearly 2,500 athletes from more than 100 countries in Boise, Idaho, to compete in seven Olympic-type sports. It will be the largest multi-sport event in North America in 2009.
The Global Youth Activation Summit is one of several Special Olympics global initiatives helping promote school communities where all young people are agents of change. The summit was made possible through a $4.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education and a generous donation from Special Olympics Global Sponsor Mattel Children’s Foundation. Other initiatives include Project Unify, a year-long U.S. national project to energize young people across the nation to foster respect, dignity and advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics believes that through sports youth can make a difference in friendships, schools and communities.
For more information on the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games, including the Global Youth Summit, Project Unify and other youth programs, visit www.specialolympics.org/getintoit
[ Top ]
2008 Asia Pacific Bocce Brunei Competition
BY: Cynthia A. Bianzon
Paul Bianzon, wearing a white cap, with teammate
Robin Conanan.(in blue Tshirt), winning the gold medal
for the Bocce Doubles, Asia Pacific Bocce Competition,
August 19-24, 2008.
I would not have thought that one of my two special children would board an airplane to represent our country and compete in the 2nd Asia Pacific Bocce Competition in Brunei from August 19-24, 2008. But tonight, this 18th of August 2008, it is coming true. This is a testing ground, so I thought, because this would be the first time that my son would be away from our family. I was apprehensive of how he would adjust to a new environment, with a new set of a pattern of activities, knowing that autistic children display unusual behavior or tantrums once they are into a different setting. He would be in the company of acquaintances whom we were with for two years now, and the rest of the athletes seemed like strangers to me because they came from the southern side of the city. Nevertheless, we all had bonding times together and these made things easier.
Let me tell you about my son. He is Paul Bianzon, the third among my four children. Both he and his sister, Eunice, our youngest are autistic. Both of them are members of Special Olympics Philippines and are in the Bocce team practicing every Saturday. Only Paul was chosen.
I remembered that day when a male volunteer-teacher nicknamed Tan-Tan told us that my son was chosen to be a part of the Philippine team. It was a happy moment for me. When I got home, I broke the news to my husband but said I must wait for the formal notice. So I waited and then it came. After that I made a list of people to whom we can solicit money for the airplane fare. To cut the long story short, God touched the hearts of certain people so that contributions were just enough for my son’s transportation expenses. How my heart ached that I would not be there to witness my son’s triumph! But then it must be God’s will that it would be a time of letting go and I comforted myself with the assurance that Mr. Michael Yu, the Coach and Tan-Tan Doroin, the Head of Delegation (not to mention the Unified Partners) would see to it that the athletes are all taken cared of.
And now it was time to go.
One can feel the exhilaration, the joy, the excitement in the air as the entire delegation went inside the airport. My son did not almost kiss me because of excitement. I would sneak and peek at the glass door to get a glimpse of my son as they go through the standard airport procedures. Many times the security guard would tell me to stay put at the waiting area and I would go there again. The sight of my son there was precious. Yet with the security guard behind my back again was a comical sight to me – like a cat and mouse game. The memory of it all makes me chuckle.
They left at 10:35 in the evening of August 18, 2008 and were to arrive at Bandar Seri Begawan airport at 12:35 in the morning, August 19. I got the message of their safe arrival late in the afternoon. The days that followed witnessed trickles of information that all our athletes gained medals in the Bocce competition. My son got a silver medal for the singles event, a gold medal for the doubles event, and a bronze medal for the team event. All the training paid off! I almost jumped for joy in front of our computer!
The experience gave him a storehouse of happy memories – most especially the friends he made. It made him sure of himself that he can make it on his own. It afforded him a sense of achievement and the joy it gave him cannot be quantified; it was priceless. His father and I were so happy that we shared our joy with almost everyone we know. His elder brother, our relatives, close friends inside our local church, felt the triumph themselves as if they themselves won. All those who helped him financially – some of our local government officials, even his therapists in the hospital, his teachers, and the school principal, were happy for him. And this vehicle of triumph and unquantifiable delight is none other than Special Olympics.
[ Top ]
TRAINING THE TRAINORS
March 2008 Metro Manila, Philippines
TRAINING THE TRAINORS
Special Olympics conducted a "Training the Trainors" seminar from March 26-29, 2008 at the University of the Philippines Campus in Diliman Quezon City.
The seminar was organized and implemented jointly by Special Olympics Philippines and Special Olympics Asia Pacific office. Forty - one coaches representing 10 Special Olympics Chapters in the Philippines nationwide were trained by Mr. Ng Kum Loy assisted by Mr. Jose Rene Torres and Norman Garcia.
The seminar focused on the topics such as divisioning, coach's behavior and etiquette, risk management and rules and procedure in organizing, implementing and evaluating Special Olympics sports events.
This seminar was necessary due to the fact that turnover of coaches in S.O.P is quite fast because of migration and economic difficulties creating a vacuum in the growth of athletes recruitment and stagnation of the Philippines Program.
The recently held seminar is one of the solutions to reverse the problem, and hopingly, the newly trained coach/volunteers would successfully carry out the objectives of SOP to provide year - round sports training events.
[ Top ]
BETTER THAN OLYMPICS!
Spirit, Winter 2007; Vol. 12 Number 3 p17
Kaye Chastine Samson
Special Olympics Philippines head coach Kaye Samson, 27, laughed as she confessed that as a teenager, when she saw the Rain Man, she was fascinated by the portrayal of the character with intellectual diasability, and she knew then that it was her calling. "Working with people with intellectual disabilities became my mission and I was passionate about it." She followed through with it and became a special education teacher.
She got involved with Special Olympics four years ago and became a powerhouse for the organization. As head coach of the country's first World Games badminton team, she had to learn the sport and with characteristic determination set about to teach herself and her four-member team everything they needed to know. To get proficient, they trained everyday for nine months, from 6-9 a.m. before school started. Samson had to get up even earlier to prepare and bring breakfast and snacks for the team.
She related that one of her players was so poor that on a Monday during practice, she stopped in the middle of the session because her stomach hurt. The young woman had not eaten since the team's breakfast the Friday before. "This player was so thrilled to be on the team, she never missed one practice, even when she was tired, sick or hungry." Samson marveled.
Although Samson never mastered any one sport, she had high hopes. "I dreamed of being in the Olympics when I was a small girl," she said. Her love of sports has been fully realized in Special Olympics. "For me, Special Olympics is God's gift, and it's a much better blessing to be able to help others reach their dreams," she remarked. Her badminton team did realize their dreams at the 2007 World Summer Games by winning gold, silver and bronze medals in singles and mixed doubles.
Samson says emphatically Special Olympics makes a difference in the lives of the athletes. "It teaches them discipling and confidence." She said parents were surprised that their children jumped out of bed before dawn without help to ensure they got themselves to practice on time. "I constantly visit schools and urge them to have their students join Special Olympics."
[ Top ]
PARENT EMPOWERMENT
Alex Babst
Alex Babst
Twenty Five years ago, if someone even suggested that I could be the father of a special child, I would have considered that statement as a joke made in bad taste, or I might have even felt insulted. But today, like the millions of parents who care and love their special child, I have come to realize that although life may be a little harder for me as a father of a special child, the rewards are greater.
I do not claim that having a special child means that I am a super father or that I am different from the fathers of normal children.
I feel the same disappointments, the same joys and the same everyday anxieties that all fathers who care for their children, normal or special, would feel. Yet I feel different from other fathers with normal children because I have become more aware of the simple activities of life that normal persons easily take for granted.
Activities such as washing our hands, or saying a few words to complete a phase; activities such as telling time or remembering dates and places; Activities such as following very simple instructions or merely concentrating on a funny television program. I have come to realize that aside from being present, a parent must share the activities with his special child. Parents with a special child must have the patience to repeat mundane actions everyday to ensure that the child learns how to change his clothes, learns how to use a plate together with a spoon, fork, and glass every time he takes his meals, and learns how to use soap and water to keep his body clean and healthy. In short, to teach the child the most basic activities in order to survive. For some of us parents who are more fortunate, our special child might learn how to read and write, participate in selected sports events, and even acquire basic skills necessary to perform a work task. Some special children even learn how to develop their special talent such as playing a musical instrument or performing artistic activities such as folk dancing or watercolor painting.
With that in mind, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to proceed to my topic this afternoon: Parent Empowerment.
Translated into daily human activities, parent empowerment means the ability of a father and a mother to accept that their child will grow up disabled, different or unique from normal children.
Parent empowerment means that a father and / or a mother must accept their child for what he IS and what they will later become; a perpetual child inside an adult’s body.
Unless a miracle happens sometime in the child’s lifetime, a parent has to accept that the child will forever remain intellectually or mentally simple in his activities, no matter what normal physical changes occur in his body. Up to this date, no medical cure has yet been discovered to replace or correct brain disfunctions.
Parent empowerment means that parents with a special child must be dynamic. They must be prepared to sacrifice their pride, their time and their dreams in exchange for the HOPE that their child can live as normal a life as possible. Many parents with a special child will never experience the satisfaction of a graduation ceremony, the joy and excitement of a wedding day, and the fun of preparing a birthday party for a grandchild, yet, all the effort and pain of having a special child is rewarded ten-Fold with that unquantifiable hug or kiss extended by a child to his father or mother or by that endearing phrase that can melt any hardened heart “Daddy. I love you!”
No one in this world can love your child as much as you can, just as nobody will love you as much as your child will, as long as your child feels and knows that you, as his parent, accepts him for what he is, your very own flesh and blood.
Parent empowerment may sound so complicated, so full of idealism and artistry, yet in everyday language my friends, it means LOVE, sacrifice, hard work and total commitment without any reservations or thought of material reward or glory.
Parent empowerment is the strength to ignore the traditional concept of society that mentally challenged children are the product of the sins of mis-behaving adults or the beliefs of ignorant superstitions.
Parent Empowerment is the determination to give the best to your child by seeking answers to problems that appear so overpowering that we parents sometimes forget that other parents or experts may have the solutions, and the answers are there, if only our pride would stop paralyzing our ability to behave more rationally than emotionally.
Parent Empowerment is the total commitment to accept each of our children as different and unique from our self and from their other brothers or sisters just as we unquestioningly accept the reality that some persons are brighter than others, some are prettier than others or that physical disability is no different from mental disability as far as living normal lives is concerned. Would you find a blind person or a deaf – mute uglier, funnier, or scarier than a person with a learning disability? Why then the reason to feel ashamed of your special child?
Lastly, and I believe this definition to be the most important of all, Parent empowerment is the wisdom, to accept that our special child comes from God and we, as parents, are only guardians of God’s gift. All of us are here today because God has a reason and a purpose for each one of us to be present and alive right now. For this fact alone, no parent is qualified or justified to question God’s wisdom and reject his gift.
Let me close my talk with a word of caution: a man and / or a woman who knowingly rejects their own flesh and blood because their offspring happens to be different is likewise proclaiming to the world what great fools they truly are, because only fools believe that they alone are perfect, and the rest of us earthlings are human.
[ Top ]
ROXANNE NG
Roxanne Ng
Ng, now 21 years old, first became involved with sports at an early age, having trained in athletics and swimming. In addition to her athletic training, she also enjoys keeping up with the latest fashion trends — shopping is a favorite pastime. Ng also possesses a beautiful singing voice.
Currently attending the vocational workshop at Teacher-Mom Special School, she makes the time to practice her bowling techniques and improve her scores. She compliments this with regular gym workouts. Her coach Cristy Gacuma describes Roxanne as "determined and focused in her game, with a very disarming smile in practice and during competition."
Ng is very happy to be a part of the Special Olympics movement, which has always meant a great deal to h er and enriched her life.
[ Top ]
LOOKING BACK WITH PRIDE
CYNTHIA MANZANARES
Cynthia Manzanares
it was a nerve-wracking experience for us (her family) when she competed at the Special Olympics Philippines National Games for the first time in 2004 because she faced competitors accompanied by official coaches and friends/townmates (as cheer leaders) while she only had me (her mother) as coach and cheer leader (her father had to be at work and her brother could not skip school).
But Lia did us proud as she won her first gold medal, which she brought to school to encourage her classmates, who are also children with special needs, to participate in Special Olympics events.
Lia began training, and in 2006 it paid off when she accepted the challenge of competing with a new partner in the 2006 National Games. We went home with voices hoarse from cheering, but with great pride and joy because Lia won three more gold medals in badminton and the privilege of representing Special Olympics Philippines in the World Summer Games in Shanghai, China.
In October 2007, Lia left for China with the Special Olympics Philippines delegation. With much anxiety, we saw her off with the team. It was the first time she had been away from us for more than one day. A week later, I took leave from work and went to Shanghai to play the role of fan and cheerleader.
It was my first experience at a Special Olympics World Games, and I didn't know what to expect. When I saw Lia after a week of missing and worrying about her, I found that I had no reason to worry after all. She was enjoying herself tremendously, having met new friends. She told me about her experiences with the volunteers and athletes from other countries and the places she had been. I felt good for her.
When it was time for her matches, my anxiety level went a notch higher. Lia had specifically asked me not to shout my cheers as this might cause her to lose focus, so I clapped my hands until they turned red so she would know I was there for her. Win or lose, I embraced her and gave her words of endearment and encouragement.
The long walk and train rides to Baoshan (the province in Shanghai where the badminton event was held) and my red palms were worth it because Lia won two medals - a silver medal in Mixed Doubles and a bronze medal in Women's Singles.
Lia's accomplishment did not go unnoticed. Her father and brother, who had stayed in the Philippines, called every night to find out how she had done and kept all our friends informed. Every relative and friend knew of Lia's medals even before we got back to the Philippines.
Her school posted pictures of her on the bulletin board and gave her a bouquet during a school-wide program. I made a scrapbook of her experiences in China which we proudly showed to relatives. Her brother, a varsity badminton player in one of the universities here, proudly shares his sister's accomplishment with his friends and classmates. He never misses the opportunity to show them Lia's medals and scrapbook!
Lia's shining moment has made her a better person, ready to take on new challenges and face her future with greater confidence. As her family, we are proud and happy for Lia. We believe that with God's blessings and our support, Lia can prepare for her future as a self-sufficient and productive person.
[ Top ]
