People With Disability Association Philippines

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY ASSOCIATION PHILIPPINES

People with Disability: Earlier this week, I had the fantastic privilege of accompanying local NGO Seeds of Dignity on one of their visits to a remote village in Davao Del Norte, New Katipunan Philippines.  In partnership with Jubilee Foundation, they are providing support and access for the local disabled residents who have congregated in this particular village.  The People with Disability (PWD) Association is a government recognised program but unfortunately does not receive much support from local government for its members.

We met Pastor Joel who currently heads up the local PWD association and was amazed at the grace and patience this man showed to those around him.  He himself is a longtime Polio victim and as I watched him walk, I was struck by the determination and strength he carried.  Supporting this group of 20+ individuals with varying levels of abilities would be challenging enough for those fully able bodied, but throw into the mix his side effects from Polio and the rugged terrain in which he has to work in and you would find a very challenging scenario!  Nevertheless, Pastor Joel faithfully serves his community daily.

Through Seeds of Dignity and their partnership with Jubilee Foundation, they are now beginning to provide assessments to ascertain the level of need and support per individual and therefore provide some possible solutions for treatments and education that would best serve each individual.  This in itself is a fantastic development, however the need is still only just being scratched at the surface.

An immediate need for this association is a set of trustworthy and rugged wheels. Due to the terrain, a regular vehicle would not do and therefore needs a motorcycle cab that can traverse all the difficult paths and roads in order to pick up individuals and bring them back to the centre for their treatments and support.  This would greatly improve access to services and also provide an opportunity for socialising and education when the opportunity is given.

Please consider partnering with STEP International and Seeds of Dignity and consider raising some funds for this amazing project.  If you would like some ideas on fundraising initiatives, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and we would be happy to share a number of ways that you could help raise support from your local area.

Meeting these individuals and families really makes you stop and count each and every blessing we have as individuals and within our families.  I hope you enjoy the photo/video presentation as much as we enjoyed being right in the mix!

To find out more about Seeds of Diginity, please click on to their website at: www.seedsofdignityministries.com

PHOTOGRAPHY: PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY ASSOCIATION PHILIPPINES

I took these images using a mixture of the Nikon D700 with either the 18-35mm or the 50mm f1.8 lens as well as the trusty Fuji X E2 with the standard kit lens 18-55mm.  Videos were shot hand held on the fuji as well.  All video and audio editing was done on the Mac afterwards!