A person once asked the founder of The Great Physician Rehabilitation Foundation Inc. (GP Rehab), “ Why do you take the differently-abled persons in street parades? Don’t you think you’re making their lives more inconvenient?”
To these questions, GP Rehab founder Analou Suan answered, “ We let them join parades for the public to see that they, too, are capable of joining in parades even when they are in their wheelchairs. The best way to let the child put to use all of the skills he has learned is to educate the community so that they will give him the respect and the trust that he needs.”
To GP Rehab, there are no disabled individuals in this world, only a disabled society that fails to acknowledge the capacities of people commonly referred to as “disabled” or “handicapped.”
Efforts to establish a foundation that serves the needs of the differently-abled for physical and psychological therapy sessions began in 1996. Suan left her lucrative career in the United States and decided to organize physical and occupational therapists in Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental.
“The main objective then was to provide high quality physical and occupational therapy services to everyone regardless of their ability to pay. Patients were not charged although donations were accepted. Treatments were done by volunteer therapists and student interns from different schools in the Visayas and Mindanao,” recalled Suan.
It first opened as a physical therapy unit of Famas Medical Clinic and was later moved to a rented house in 1998 to give more space for its patients. In 1999, it was transferred to another location — a hospital facility.
In the first four years of operations, it was able to provide free services to more than 1,000 clients and donated 180 wheelchairs, walkers and crutches from the Norwegian Disabled Care Foundation. It is also receiving support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.
The foundation grew, albeit slowly, owing to limited funding. The stream of volunteers did not dwindle, however. The volunteers’ dedication enabled the foundation to reach out to more people in need.
In 2004, when Suan decided to transfer residence from Oroquieta City to Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental, she brought GP Rehab with her and introduced it in the City of Gentle People.
(Ownership of the clinic in Oroquieta was taken over by a local person with disability group that was established by Emmanuel “Loloy” Diango, a recipient of the donated wheelchairs from Norway. This is now run by a former volunteer, Marichu Tijing, who started out as a physical therapy intern.)
In Dumaguete, it partnered with several government units and non-government organizations. In September 2004, it impleneted the Caring Hands to Inspire and Link with Disabled Children, a children’s rehabilitation project in metro Dumaguete and the province of Negros Oriental.
Currently, it provides free physical therapy, occupational therapy and special education services to 100 children with various disabilities from indigent families. It has integrated 139 children in different public and private schools in the area. One of them is 13-year old Abigail Alviola, a blind child who attends Liptong Elementary School located in the municipality of Bacong.
Abigail’s mother, Eliza, said her daughter lost her vision at the age of five. While they experienced difficulties, she is grateful for the assistance that GP Rehab extended to her and her daughter.
“I attended several sessions that taught me about being patient and more loving to my special child. More than anything else, she needs me, she draws strength from me. She grew up to be a child without a bitter heart, “ Eliza said in Visayan.
Abigail is graduating from elementary this ear 2012 and hopes to proceed with her high school education. She wants to take up Computer Science in college.
Eliza is a member of the Differently-abled Children’s Parents Association, the first and only group of its kind in Dumaguete that serves as a support mechanism to the differently-abled children and their families. Parents, particularly mothers, are trained on how to effectively support their children.
The Philippine National Police and Department of Education also underwent training conducted by GP Rehab to equip them with the knowledge and skills in handling children with disabilities.
Suan said GP Rehab has six programs, namely, community-based rehabilitation; holistic functional development; networking; referral and advocacy program; human resource and development; asset building for sustainability; and information, communication and education. The foundation has 17 personnel and is privileged to have volunteers who are students and young professionals.
Suan said GP Rehab is very vocal in voicing out its concerns on matters affecting persons with disabilities. This proves to be beneficial to them in gaining support from the government, other NGOs, academe, and the media, according to Mark Garcia of Silliman University.
GP Rehab has lightened the stigma that often accompanies disability, making children more accepted in their communities.
Abigail, for example, is taken care of by her classmates. While a teacher for the blind visits the school to monitor Abigail’s progress, her classmates also help her out by reading books to her, if not helping her out in understanding their lessons — solid proof that a culture of negativity toward children with disabilities was transformed to a culture of care, concern and inclusivity.
In 2010, GP Rehab initiated the search for the Ten Outstanding Persons with Disabilities in Negros Oriental, which recognizes PWDs who excel in the careers they have chosen.
Susan said they also introduced the community-based rehabilitation centers in Negros Oriental towns. To date, the municipalities of Dauin, Bacong, and Valencia are now running their own rehabilitation centers.
Vice Mayor Rodrigo Alanano of Dauin town said they allocated a portion of the municipal budget for the rehabilitation center to ensure the continuity of service and operation. The center does not only serve people of Dauin but also coming from neighboring towns of Siaton, Bacong and Zamboanguita in Negros Oriental province.
Standing in the frontline in the fight for inclusion of PWDs in a normal educational setting is one advocacy that GP Rehab is passionate about. They are not ashamed to shout for inclusive education, which opens opportunities for PWDs to develop themselves and pursue careers that other people freely venture into.
“That’s why we parade in the streets every chance we get. We are sending the message that it is society that ‘disables’ the PWDs. Everyone is capable of living a normal life. That includes persons with disabilities,” said Suan. (Reprinted with permission of Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.)
