PhilCOCHED News
WHEELATHON – WALKATHON FOR A CAUSE
Saturday 25th July 2009, 6am – 12pm
Lantana Street, Cubao, Quezon City
To celebrate National Disability Awareness Week (17th – 24th July 2009), PhilCOCHED in cooperation with the Philippine Sports Association for the Differently Abled (PhilSPADA) organised a Wheelathon-Walkathon Fundraising event which took place at Lantana Street, Cubao. Quezon City. Participants completed a 5km trail to raise sponsorship in aid of PhilCOCHED’s important activities and in particular for the educational opportunities for young persons with disabilities supported by the Inclusive Youth Center (IYC) a project of PhilCOCHED. All abilities came and participated in the event and members of the general public cheered participants on! During the event there was also an auction with exciting prizes to win, music, entertainment and an introduction to PhilCOCHED programs and activities. The event enabled PhilCOCHED to meet the local community and raise their profile amongst neighbours and friends.
All funds raised for the event will be channelled to the Inclusive Youth Centre, an inclusive youth organisation bringing together both disabled and non-disabled youth to create an enabling environment for young people. For more information about this and other PhilCOCHED programmes please click here.
THE FUTURE OF DISABLED CHILDREN’S EDUCATION –A RIGHT TO EQUALITY?
(This event was covered by Business World; please click on this link for a copy of the article published 12th May 2009.)
On 11th May 2009 PhilCOCHED hosted the " Inter-Cooperation Dialogue for the Inclusive Education of Children with Disabilities" in partnership with the World Bank and the Department of Education at Bayview Park Hotel, Roxas Boulevard, Manila. During the meeting the future education of disabled and vulnerable Filipino children was discussed by key figures working with and for the Philippines education system, teachers and community support groups alike, with a focus on Inclusive Education techniques and practices.
Currently only two per cent of children with disabilities in the Philippines are provided educational opportunities in schools (DepEd 2007). Providing these children with an appropriate education will be beneficial to all members of the community since it will enable them to become active and productive citizens within society at a later stage in life. In addition research shows that including as many of the remaining 98 per cent of children with disabilities in to regular classrooms not only has a positive impact on the child in question but also on their classmates and their teachers who learn to become more accepting individuals.
The outcome of the meeting, after participants were given the opportunity to discuss best practices and challenges faced in Inclusive Education techniques, was to develop a tentative workplan to conduct a series of local consultations in the different regions of the Philippines to discuss future Inclusive Education activities. The success of this meeting and future activities arising from its outcomes will play a positive impact on Inclusive Education programmes and therefore on future generations of Filipino children and teachers for years to come.