Empower People with Disabilities

If life is a journey, there are millions out there who would need to finish it on a wheel chair if not literally crawling.

Life in itself is already a huge challenge. Being stricken by a crippling disease triples the agony and the sad part is, it is not your own choosing. The situation forces you to face the struggles, the twists and turns without the vital parts of the human body.

Perhaps, it is a matter of perspective. Handicap hampers your mobility and prevents you from doing many things. It is frustrating but it is a reality that people with disability need to overcome. There is always a hope. It is what you can do that matters and not what you cannot.

I-witness, in a documentary by Sandra Aguinaldo entitled “Pasan-Pasan” (carried on the back), features a story about a mother who carries Vincent, her crippled son to school- School for Crippled Children. She knows the value of education especially for her son who is suffering from disability. Vincent needs to be equipped to survive the hostile environment of life.

The documentary also features Pablito, a 17 year-old guy, who's suffering from Brittle Bone Disease. He depends on a wheel chair for mobility. His brother is taking care of his every need. His brother said, “I’m trying to teach him to be self-reliant... in taking a bath or moving around. As long as I’m alive, I’ll take care of him but what if I’m gone? We’ll never know...”

I’m thankful that there are institutions that help “People with Disabilities” (PWD) like Tahanang Walang Hagdanan that offer rehabilitation and vocational training program, job placement, mobility aid assistance, sports or recreational development and community-based rehabilitation programs.

I pray that more people would continue to help these institutions help empower people with disabilities.

Ana Julaton: The Filipina Boxing Champ

Ana carrying her two championship belts

It is not everyday that we see a good boxer much more, a three-time world boxing champion, and she’s a woman and a Filipina!

Proudly, the current WBO Super Bantamweight Champion, Ana Julaton is a Filipina. It is amazing to see a true woman in the boxing ring unleashing hard punches against formidable opponents, like Maria Elena Villalobos of Mexico. She has given another reason for Filipinos around the world to be proud of their flag, country and race.

Julaton and Pacquiao

In her fight against Lisa Brown in March of this year, she showed great heart as a fighter. She was bleeding but she never turned back. She lost the fight but her “never say die” attitude in that fight won the admiration of many and nobody doubted that she would bounce back from that defeat. True enough, she did by a split decision victory at “Rumble at the Rama XII” at the Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, Canada last June 30, 2010.

image from Team Julaton @ Wordpress.Com

However, behind her sturdy posture and vicious combination of punches, this 30-year old, single, boxer embodies a true Filipina beauty.


team julaton @ wordpress.com

Filipino and American War Vets

The battle of Bataan and Corregidor during the World War II has displayed the gallantry of Filipino and American soldiers who had fought side by side. It was one momentous time in history when Filipinos and Americans were literally one in life and blood.

When losing the battle became imminent, General Douglas McArthur left Bataan although he made the promise “I shall return.” He orphaned the Filipino and American soldiers. Greatly demoralized due to lack of supply and disease, eventually, they fell in the hands of the Japanese Imperial Army. They endured the Death March and the suffering from war prison in Capas, Tarlac. In 1946, when General McArthur returned and retook the Philippine Islands from Japanese occupation, history taught that America returned indeed. However, it seemed that they returned only for their soldiers but they had left Filipino soldiers behind. The promised compensation had since then been forgotten. It is not all about the money but the honor and pride of equity between brothers in arms.

The Stimulus Bill President Obama signed last year provided US$198 Million for Filipino World War II Veterans. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced the benefit for Filipino Veterans who aided American troops in World War II - a cash payment authorized through the newly enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Filipino Veterans are eligible for one-time payments of $9,000 for non-US citizens and $15,000 for Filipino Veterans with US citizenship.

We are thankful about the monetary assistance to the old and feeble veterans who are now approaching the sunset of life. However, the assistance covers only the veterans who are still alive when they file their claim. It does not cover the legal beneficiaries of those veterans who have already died waiting for their rightful compensation. The government of America, in 1941, has promised to pay the Filipino soldiers who would join the United States Armed Force in the Far East (USAFFE) equal benefits with the American soldiers but the US government has failed to fulfill that promise.

The Senate of the United States has continually rejected the Equity Bill for Filipino Veterans of World War II. Only the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that gives a one-time lump sum payment to Filipino Veterans has passed the US Senate. The Filipino veterans are thankful but that one-time payment is the end of America’s responsibility to them. I think it is not enough.

Nevertheless, there is still reason to be thankful to the new President of America for signing into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which gave recognition to the gallantry of the Filipino veterans of World War II. If only for that, long live America!

FIlipino-American Friendship Day

July 4 is Filipino-American Friendship Day. President Diosdado Macapagal, has appointed this day to remember the liberation of Philippines from Japanese occupation during World War II.

The Philippines had been an American colony from 1898 to 1941 after three hundred years of Spanish rule. Ironically, it is a friendship that started with a bloody war.

Many revolutionaries since the Spanish autocracy have died in the hands of American soldiers like, General Gregorio del Pilar. They have even stripped the valiant general of his uniform after the battle of Tirad Pass.

However, admittedly, American colonization has done great progress in the country. Americans on board USS Thomas arrived in Manila on August 12, 1901. They introduced a new concept of public school education and a new faith, the United Methodist faith.

Wikipedia says, “They built elementary schools and learning institutions such as the Philippine Normal School (now Philippine Normal University) and the Philippine School of Arts and Trades (now Technological University of the Philippines) in 1901, the Tarlac High School on September 21, 1902 and the Quezon National High School (now, Tayabas High School), also in 1902… The Thomasites also reopened the Philippine Nautical School, which was originally established by the Board of Commerce of Manila in 1839 under Spain. About a hundred of the Thomasites stayed on to live in the Philippines after finishing their teaching assignments. They transformed the Philippines into the third largest English-speaking nation in the world and they became the precursors of the present-day U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers.”

Daniel Hudson Burnham, renowned American city planner, who is closely identified with plans for Cleveland, San Francisco, and Chicago, did the planning for the City of Baguio and Dewey Boulevard (now Roxas Boulevard).

U.S. Army Engineers headed by Col. Lyman Kennon along with Filipino engineers constructed the Kennon Road that made Baguio City accessible to transportation.

Interestingly, around 1,500 Japanese immigrant workers persevered to accomplish the difficult road project that had to cut and carve through the mountains of Benguet Province. The contribution of Japanese immigrant workers was significant and noteworthy. The project ended in 1905 with 500 Japanese workers dead. One Japanese worker sacrificed his life for every 90 meters of road length.

Your Life Matters

Life is important. You are important. No matter how hard you’re going through, you matter most especially to God. Sometimes, bad experiences drag people into hopelessness and discouragement. Unless, there are people who are willing to reach out their hands to help them up, they will slowly slide down to depression and even suicide.

I commend organizations that cater to the needs of these people. One of them is To Write Love on Her Arms. It is a non-profit movement aiming to give hope and find help for people who are struggling with addiction, depression and suicide. The organization works to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

Some may not agree with the tattooing but still the purpose of the movement is to show love to a person who thinks that dying is the only way out. If you can rescue one from such dark feeling and lead him toward God’s light, it doesn’t matter if you have tattoo or none.

According to their website, 121 million people worldwide suffer from depression- that is according to the World Health Organization and according to the US National Institue of Mental Health, about 18 million of these cases are happening in the United States. The NIMH also says that depression often co-occurs with anxiety disorders and substance abuse, with 30 percent of teens with depression also developing a substance abuse problem and about 2/3 of those suffering from depression never seek treatment, which makes it the number one cause of suicide; third leading cause of death among teenagers.


The US Surgeon General’s Survey in 1999, between 20% and 50% of children and teens struggling with depression have a family history of this struggle and the offspring of depressed parents are more than three times as likely to suffer from depression.


Isn’t it becoming so alarming? Those statistics are in US alone. What about in the other parts of the world?


Let us all unite in love and make this world a better place to live.


I would like to re-post this part of an article from the blog site: so far so good so what, dated June 25, 2010. I hope I can help promote the activity.

“I Matter is having a free concert with 13 bands at Eldridge Park in Elmira, New York on Saturday July 31 at 12 noon. Gates open at 11am for more info log onto http://www.imatterfest.com/ or send an email to info@imatterfest.com. You may also contact Glad Tiding Christian Church 116 Breesport Road Horseheads New York 14845 607-796-9568”

Map of Eldridge Park, Elmira, New York, USA

Go to Google Maps for a better look

May God bless us all.