Dumaguete City celebrates rights for PWDs by Jennifer Catan-Tilos DUMAGUETE CITY, July 15 (PIA)      Stage plays and dances kick-off the 33rdNational Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NDPR) week celebration on July 18 at 3:30 p.m. at Quezon Park, this city. Performances by the Silliman University Kahayag Dance Troupe (SUKDT), Youth Advocacy Through Theater (YATTA), the Deaf Community and children with disabilities are parts of the highlights of the week-long celebration. However, before the program a Mass celebration will be conducted at 1:00 p.m. atDumaguete Cathedral Church, fronting the Quezon Park, followed by a parade around the city. Great Physician Rehabilitation Foundation (GPRehab) Art Coordinator, AikenEmmanuel Quipot invited the public to participate in the activities to understand and appreciate the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs). Quipot said, the event would not only raise awareness but to employ the rights of PWDs and make them affiliates in the society. The country will observe the 33rd National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NDPW) Week on July 17 to 23. This year’s theme is “Making the Rights Real for Filipinos with Disabilities” to promote the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The GPRehab, the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) and the Dumaguete City Handicapped (DUCHA) spearhead the PWDs celebration through a series of activities lined-up. The same activities will be held in the municipalities of Valencia and Dauin on July 20 and 22, respectively. (PIA NegOr/JCT)

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RAFI notes need for more venues for community volunteerism

by Rachelle M. Nessia

DUMAGUETE CITY, July 15 (PIA) – So many willing volunteers but so little opportunity for them to show it. 

This was the concern aired by Dominica Chua, chief operating officer of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) in a press conference held at Foundation University, Dumaguete City today as she noted the lack of venues in Visayas and Mindanao where Filipinos can voluntarily transform lives and communities. 

“Filipinos are helpful by nature and there are many who are willing to volunteer to help others, but the problem is where can they do this? There are not many venues for volunteerism out there,” she said. 

She added that the Filipino youths are especially “hungry to find out what they can do to be of help to the community.”

Chua urged private and public institutions to organize events that will serve as venues for people to volunteer and be involved in charity work such as the Gawad Kalinga housing projects. 

The RAFI chief's observation comes in the wake of 15 years of searching, validating and recognizing individuals and institutions who make significant contributions to community and social development under the RAFI Triennial Awards. 

To date, 48 Filipinos in Visayas and Mindanao, of which five come from Negros Oriental, have been recognized by RAFI for their “selfless deeds and continuing ministry” that created transformation and development in the community. 

RAFI awardees from the province are, namely: Dr. Gerardo Maxino who founded the Philippine Physics Society and Maxino College that offers an aggressive scholarship program for 50% of the college's student population; Dr. Chelsa Cacaldo who established the community-run primary hospital in Inapoy, Mabinay for indigent families and where she also initiated the “Peso for Health” program; Perpetual Help Credit Cooperative, Inc. and its former manager Edilberto Lantaca, Jr.; and St. Catherine Family Helper Foundation, Inc. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)