On behalf of our
parent group, hello from the
Our parent support
group, PAVIC (Parent Advocates for the Visually Impaired Children) was formed 3
years ago. Over the past years, through
the hardwork of the members, the organization now boasts of a membership of
more than 120, from an original number of less than 20. PAVIC has been very
active during the past year. Late last
year, some of our children were featured in a top rating TV program – Magandang
Gabi Bayan. It featured awareness of
Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), which causes childhood blindness. It was the first time in the
As a follow up, in August 2002, PAVIC organized a forum at Manila
Doctors’ Hospital on the prevention and treatment of Retinopathy of
Prematurity. We invited speakers who are
renowned specialists from the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology and the
Philippine Pediatric society. Our
children presented a song number before the forum started. Many doctors, seeing
these children up close, were teary eyed.
It was the first time they had seen these children outside of their
clinic and their patient file. After the forum the doctors have undertaken to
be particularly vigilant in screening/monitoring ROP. PAVIC is working with the
Department of Health to set up a screening protocol for infants.
PAVIC also held a joint birthday celebration for 7 visually impaired
children during October 2002. The
celebration was held at McDonald’s. A
total of 47 children and 57 adults
attended. It was the first time McDonald’s had held a party for visually
impaired children. Through the efforts
of the McDonald’s staff and the teachers, parents and children thoroughly
enjoyed the event. They played games
especially designed for the children, games that put emphasis on tactile and
auditory cues. They had so much fun!
McDonald’s expressed great appreciation and interest in what we did. In fact, they have invited our children to
perform in their Christmas party on
PAVIC is a member of ICEVI Philippines.
In line with the ICEVI strategies, we are now resolved to work towards
educational access for children with visual impairment and to increase school
enrolment. It is a sad fact that, to
date, a great number of children with visual impairment are confined to the four walls of their
homes, receiving no education, living in obscurity. It is the vision of PAVIC that through our
steady efforts and with the help of government agencies and NGOs, we can
encourage more parents to bring out their children into the mainstream of
society. We hope that with the
activities like those what we had at McDonald’s and Manila Doctors’ Hospital,
we can enlist the help of civic-minded professionals and business
organizations, to be our partners in our advocacy to identify and refer more
children for educational
services. We, members of the parents
support group, are much committed to make our dreams into reality.
·
Linda
Wong
ALVA Satellite Full
Page Advt.