MALATE, MANILA – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) MiMaRoPa will join the nation in celebrating National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NDPR) week by holding a full-day event in Boac, Marinduque on August 01, 2014.
DSWD along with various National Government Agencies and Civil Society Organizations converged to commemorate NDPR week by conducting activities that cater to the interest of the PWD sector.
The 36th NDPR week celebration will begin with a Thanksgiving Mass, followed by “Paligsahan ng may mga Kapansanan,” a multi-sport event involving PWDs.
A ‘One-Stop Shop Clinic’ will be opened in the afternoon to serve as a venue for Legal Consultation, Online Registration, Job Fair and Wheelchair assessment. “With the help of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), we hope to open job opportunities suitable to PWDs,” said Nerissa Nario, PWD Focal of DSWD MiMaRoPa. She added “DSWD [also] provides financial assistance” to which 18 beneficiaries have been granted with educational and medical financial aid in the first semester of the year.
Regional Director Wilma D. Naviamos said in an interview that “DSWD gives high regard to the skills, talents and contributions of the PWDs in our society.” Naviamos believes that a physical disability is a challenge to a person, and that “their contribution to the welfare of the nation” is as equally important as that of any Filipinos’. She gives assurance that DSWD is firm in supporting and upholding the rights and privileges of PWDs “our department monitors all establishments across the region to assure their responsiveness to PWD laws” referencing to building a PWD-friendly structures.
This year’s theme, “Talino at Panindigan ng Taong may Kapansanan: Pasaporte sa Kaunlaran”, reaffirms the capacity of PWDs to uplift their own level of well-being. “Katuwang ang DSWD ng mga lokal na pamahalaan sa pagsusulong ng mga program para sa ikabubuti ng ating mga kababayang may kapansanan,” said Naviamos. ### (Dwight Y. Macabuhay)
