Google Training for Persons With Disabilities

Last Sept 13, 2014, 12 differently-abled persons participated in our first training for the project "Taking Advantage of Technology" (More of this project here). This project of Behind the Rolling Chair aims to help PWDs get a job or start a business online. As we all know online jobs were very convenient especially for PWDs. With the Google Tools training, PWDs were able to enhanced their skills and prepare themselves to become virtual assistants.

Exciting Project for the PWD Sector

Here is something to look forward in the PWD (Persons With Disability) sector. Another project of Behind the Rolling Chair that aims to help PWDs get a job or start a business online. 

Taking Advantage of Technology is a series of training intended for the PWDs focusing on the benefits that technology offers. 

Legal Rights of Persons With Disabilities

Who are Persons With Disabilities (PWDs)? How do we define PWDs? What are the scope of legal rights of Persons With Disabilities? These three questions are common especially for us in the sector. Below, is a video discussing the above questions. Listen to Mr Manuel Agcaoli (CEO of Tahanang Walang Hagdan) and Ms Carmen Zubiaga (Nat'l Council on Disability Affairs) as they expound issues that matter to the PWD community and to our society.

Persons With Disabilities includes those who have long -term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation with society on an equal basis with others.

Duskin Leadership Training in Japan for PWD

For how many years now, I have been applying for the Duskin Leadership Training in Japan. To be exact, this is my 5th time to apply. The said training is designed for young Persons With Disabilities (PWD) who are living in Asia and the Pacific that wish to become leaders in their own community and work for the benefit of the PWD sector.

The latter program (the Duskin Leadership Training Program in Japan) was launched in 1999, as part of the Asia and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities (1993-2002).  It recruits young people with disabilities living in Asia and the Pacific who wish to study disability issues in Japan and gain the necessary skills and knowledge to bring back home, in order to improve the situation of the disabled population in their own countries. 

Maximum of 10 trainees are accepted every year. Each country will have at least one representative who is eligible for the said training. Its going to be a 10 month long training program that participants need to adapt themselves to Japanese life and culture. This year the program starts in late August and ends in early July next year. For more details how to apply for the 17th Duskin Leadership Training, visit the official website http://www.normanet.ne.jp/~duskin/english/index.html.

A Mind-Blowing Experience

It was August 17-18, 2008 when I joined the Youth Leadership Training for Person's With Disability held at Hope Mountain, Ulas Davao city. It was a 2 days seminar funded by the Liliane Fonds Philippines in cooperation of the Maharlika Charity Foundation. Attended by 15 differently-abled persons and it aimed to boast the self-esteem and the leadership of each PWD in their own communities. The 15 PWDs comes from the different regions in the country.

It was actually my first seminar together with my fellow PWDs.  Way back high school days, I am not really at ease and comfortable to be with this group of people (as if i'm not one of them).  Yes, that's true. I didn't even want to be of friends of them 'coz I feel pity for myself and I feel so insignificant. Seeing their situations also really makes me feel sorry and it really breaks my heart. And I realized that it was just part of the pride inside in me that it was just part of the denial phase of any person struggling. In short, di ko pa tanggap ang sitwasyon na merun ako (at that time). I believed it's really in us (PWDs). I mean, we really encounter this stage of ours and its tough.

Speak Out: Striking Out Against Injustice

Batas Pambansa 344 also known as Accessibility Law is an act to enhance the mobility of Persons With Disability by requiring certain building, institution, establishments, and other public utilities to install facilities and other devices. This includes; public and private buildings and related structures for public use and which shall be constructed, repaired or renovated, streets and highways and public utilities, and public transport terminals including those of LRTA.

Last Dec. 22, 2013, an incident happened involving me and a security personnel of a certain shopping mall in the city. Below i posted the details of what happened just please bear with my dialect. 

Accessibility Observation in Singapore

It has always been my dream to visit Singapore because of its accessibility. Last Oct 25 2013 finally got the chance to experience Singapore through an advocacy campaign, to check and experience by myself how accessible the country is. From the public toilet to the shopping malls, trains, and even the high way, its all accessible.

Different Types of Disabilities

It is the inability to see. Visual impairment or low vision is a severe reduction in vision that cannot be corrected with standard glasses or contact lenses and reduces a person's ability to function at certain or all tasks. [medical-dictionary]

Fun Run for People on Wheels in the PH

A "FUN RUN" organized by the Philippine Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine (PARM) thru its Making Ourselves Vigilant to Exercise (MOVE) Pilipinas RUN 2013. This was in celebration of the 35th National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week. A simulataneous celebration of the entire PWD (Person With Disability) sector in the country. Also to celebrate and remember the birthday of the "sublime paralytic" Apolinario Mabini, who was known to be one the Filipino hero.

Last July 21, 2013 at exactly 4:30am, Manila, Tacloban, and Davao simutaneously had the PARM MOVE PILIPINAS RUN 2013.

GUIMARAS EXPERIENCE ON WHEELS

I have been so addicted with water activities like swimming, scuba diving, snorkling, etc. that is why when i went to Iloilo for the second time, i did not missed to experience Guimaras, a known to be place of white sand beaches and blue water islands. From Iloilo, we need to ride a boat first for about an hour then a jeepney for 30 minutes in order to be in Guimaras.

For a wheelchair person like me, its not really easy especially when you ride a full packed jeepney going there unless you are in a private vehicle.

IN EVERY RULE THERE'S ALWAYS AN EXEMPTION

Just this morning I went to NCCC Mall again for another business transaction and did some groceries. That was not the first time I used basement to enter to the said mall while im in a cab. But it was the first time that the security personnel stopped me and did not allow my cab entered the said premises. I was asking the guard for some consideration since im in wheelchair but instead he called up their head security. I really thought since she is the head, she has the capability of giving consideration. But to my dismay, she didn't. I was trying to explain to her about my situation. She told me to used instead the Maa entrance but i explained to her that the ramp in Maa entrance is not that accessible for wheelchair person like me. The inclination of that ramp is very high. Its not made for wheelchair instead for the mall's shopping cart. And then she even told me to use the Mc Arthur entrance which is not a good option since its quiet far on my part.

Almario's Bedroom at PSID Class 2012 Exhibit

Booth #11 - Abot Kamay

This bedroom was design to be a handicap-friendly bedroom inspired by Naprey Almario (yours truly), and the needs of someone with a disability. He is a teacher, a friend to all, a brother, an active charity worker, an ex -PBB Housemate and a voice for people with disabilities, but most of all a person that represents hope.

Functional and aesthetically pleasing, it is a space that reflects the personality and lifestyle of the individual. It is a sanctuary where he can relax, unwind but still be productive, a place where he can be himself.

PSID Advanced Class 2012 Exhibit

       The Philippine School of Interior Design (PSID) marks its 45th year with “Gabay: Dibuhong Umaakay,” the graduation exhibit of the PSID Advanced Class of 2012, on September 29-October 31, at the former Super Sale Club. In cooperation with SM City North Edsa Interior Zone and the National Council for Disability Affairs, “Gabay” showcases 20 different spaces designed in creatively planned solutions. 

          PSID has been known to produce groundbreaking exhibits that become the benchmark of interior design exhibits in the academe. This year’s exhibit delves into a topic rarely discussed in interior design: livable yet stylish spaces for the blind, the deaf, the mute, the crippled, and the elderly.

     There are 24 spaces will be divided into four main areas: “Tanaw” (for the visually impaired), “Dinig” (for the hearing impaired), Galaw (for the elderly), and “Tindig” (for the orthopedically-challenged). The goal is to create environments for the persons with disability that will help in their healing process as well as assist the physically impaired and geriatric in their homes and assure their safety while providing comfort and style.

Are We Ready for Barrier-Free Tourism?

Are we ready for barrier-free tourism(BFT)? Is our infrastructure ready? These two questions never stop echoing into my mind. Since i started working, i have been travelling already in different places in the country. Lets just say, one reasons why i work so hard is to travel around the country, see the beauty of life, and experience new environment. But every time i travel i always consider the accessibility of the certain place. I make sure that i will not have any difficulties in transportation, accommodation, and other needs. I believe that i am not alone in this kind of circumstances.

Fully Abled Nation Campaign for the 2013 Election

A Guide to Universal Design

Five steps to providing accessibility information for tourist facilities

1. Complete accessibility factsheet PWDs require information on a number of factors to assess whether a tourist facility is accessible to them. This guidance shows facilities how to provide this basic information in a standard accessibility factsheet.

2. Submit completed accessibility factsheet to tourist information offices. Tourist information offices provide a central point for tourists to find out about the range of facilities available at a destination. Providing tourist offices with information on the accessibility of facilities, along with prices, opening hours, location, etc., will improve the service provided to all tourists.

3. Provide photographs of key features. Although self-assessment is a low cost option for facilities to provide information on access, it may not be the most reliable option. Providing photographs or plans of key features, such as the entrance, WCs, bedrooms and routes, allows disabled people to understand better the information provided in the accessibility factsheet.

4.Obtain independent verification of accessibility information. 

Independent verification will ensure the reliability and accuracy of the information provided by the facility. In some countries formal schemes operate, but in all countries there are likely to be disability and/or access organizations that are able to check the validity of the information. The accessibility factsheet allows facilities to provide details of independent verification.

5. Participate in a national accessibility scheme Some countries have developed national schemes which provide an independent assessment of accessibility and enable facilities to use a recognized label to indicate the level of accessibility achieved (see inside the back cover for contact details). This will provide increased marketing benefits for facilities which have reached a high standard of access, and provide further reassurance to PWD tourists when making decisions. How- ever, tourists require comparable information to make decisions, so facilities participating in national schemes should still consider providing a completed accessibility factsheet. The factsheet allows facilities to provide details of participation in other schemes.

Addressing Accessibility in the Tourism Sector

Like the general population, the term ‘persons with disabilities(PWDs)” encompasses a diversity of individuals with different levels of ability and different requirements for travelling. There is a wide range of impairments, including those to do with mobility, sight, or hearing, as well as learning difficulties and allergies. Many PWDs are keen to travel, but wide variation in the level of access within destinations and across the nation generally, combined with poor information and negative experiences, discourages potential customers. Improved accessibility will not only result in economic benefits to the tourism industry but will also assist the move towards full social integration. Unnecessary barriers should be the starting point for thinking about access. Instead of concentrating on an individual’s impairment, tourist facilities and destinations should focus on the barriers to access created by:

Davao Life Is Here: Abreeza Ayala Mall as to Accessibility

 My VLOG/s will feature places in the country and their accessibility for wheelchair person and to all Persons With Disabilities (PWDs). This is to give awareness to the public that it's already part of the Law which is called The Batas Pambansa Bldg 344. The said accessibility law is a way to enhance the mobility of PWDs by requiring certain buildings, institutions, establishments and public utilities to install facilities and other devices for accessibility. This will promote the realization of the rights of PWDs to participate fully in the social life and the development of the country.

We Exist. We Participate. We Contribute.