HO! HO! HO!

Holiday Greetings!!!

Maligayang

Pasko!!!

at

Mapayapang

Bagong Taon!!!

(Merry Christmas and A Peaceful New Year!!!)

Proclamation 240

Abner Manlapaz is setting up a project in cooperation with barangay Gen. T. De Leon, Valenzuela City. With the potential funding support as stated by Proclamation 240 (please see below) it is high time that NGO concerning PWDs and the basic political unit the barangay work hand in hand to formulate a more effective community-based rehab focused more on the psyche and mental attitude of PWDs. This change of attitude regarding active participation of PWDs is one of the primary thrusts of Independent Living Philosophy and Movement.


MALACAÑANGManila

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROCLAMATION NO. 240
DECLARING THE PERIOD FROM THE YEAR 2003 TO THE YEAR 2012 AS THE PHILIPPINE DECADE OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

WHEREAS, the desire for the total development of the sector of persons with disabilities is a state policies enshrined in the Philippine Constitution of 1987 and reaffirmed by various legislations and executive issuances;WHEREAS, by virtue of Proclamation No.125, the Philippines observed and participated in the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled persons, 1993-2002;

WHEREAS, while the nation’s observance of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons has been very instrumental in promoting the plight of Filipinos with disabilities, and advancing disability concerns, the state goals for the sector, such as rehabilitation, self-development and self-reliance and their integration into the mainstream of society as spelled-out in the Philippine Constitution of 1987, Magna Carta for Disabled Persons (R.A. 7277). Accessibility Law (B.P. 344) and other legislation, are all far from being met;

WHEREAS, the participants of “Makabagong Pilipinong May Kapansanan Kabalikat Din ng Bayan” Conference – The Culmination of the Decade of Disabled Persons (1993-2002) based on the results of their assessment of the country’s performance during the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, unanimously recommended the need for observance of another decade to build on the gains and continue whatever are left unfinished by the earlier Decade;

NOW, THEREFORE, I GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby declare the period from the year 2003 to 2012 as the Philippine Decade of Persons with Disabilities.

The National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons is hereby directed to rationalize all disability related efforts by formulating and issuing a Comprehensive National Plan of Action for the Decade which translates the objectives of R.A. 7277, B.P. 344, and other disability-related laws and policies into concrete programs of action for the Decade.

All heads of Departments, Chief of Bureaus, Offices, Agencies and Instrumentalities of the National government, including officials of Local Government, are hereby instructed to implement plans, programs, and activities geared towards the development of persons with disabilities based on the National Plan of Action for the Decade.

The funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this Proclamation shall be sourced out by the concerned agencies from their annual appropriation, the amount of which shall not be less than 1% of each agency’s total budget for the year or equivalent to the amount provided for under Sections 29 and 31 of the General Appropriation Act of 2002.

Non-government organizations and self-help groups among persons with disabilities, as well as other organizations are hereby enjoined to take full cognizance of the National Plan of Action for the Decade of Persons with Disabilities and to fully cooperate in the attainment of its goals and activities by gearing their policies and aligning their programs to said National Plan.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.

Done in the City of Manila, this 21st day of August, in the year of Our Lord, two thousand and two.

(Sgd) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
By the President:

(SGD) ALBERTO G. ROMULO
Executive Secretary

Did you know?

Did you know that there is a law, a comprehensive law, that protects the rights of persons with disabilities?

Republic Act 7277 or the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons:

An act providing for the rehabilitation, self-development and self-reliance of disabled person and their integration into the mainstream of society and for other purposes.

Knowledge is power.

Feel free to look up R.A. 7277 (Magna Carta for Disabled Persons) and be better informed.

Little Things In Life

Sometimes we think what we have is so little:

little blessings, little word, little salary, little allowance.

But if we'll start to appreciate little things in life, we will find out that we have so much....

So much of friends, so much of love, so much of trust, & so much of JESUS.

God Bless Us!

Psalm 23:1-6

The Lord is my sheperd, I shall lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and Your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

October 5 POC Visit

Last October 5 Life Haven members (Abner, Joon, Jun) visited POC as follow up to Life Haven's September workshop. A review and an active interaction with participants was conducted. it is nice to note that they remembered significant informations regarding the IL Workshop. The families present there were also happy to see the Life Haven members visiting them.

A patient there was also visited. Mang Mario deserves a special mention. He is a middle-age man, and for me, holds a surprising record. He has spinal cord injury C1-C2 level for twelve years now and respirator-dependent! Based on our conversation with his wife he seldom develop pneumonia (a blessing), has no pressure sores (a real feat), but develops frequent UTI (well, this is a common problem for persons with SCI). These things reflect a lot of how good Mang Mario's family support system is and the efficiency of attending hospital staff.

Philippines Signed United Nations Agreement on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Good news to fellow PWDs! The Philippines was the latest country that signed last Wednesday, September 25 the United Nations (UN) agreement on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said it only shows the country's respect for the rights of persons with disabilities.
Romulo said the signatories engage themselves to develop and carryout policies, laws and administrative measures for securing the rights recognized in the convention, and abolish laws, regulations, customs and practices that constitute discrimination. He stressed that the convention is not asking for any new rights for the disabled, nor asking for anything that they don't already enjoy, but for "persons with disabilities enjoy the same opportunities in society that everybody else already enjoys." The convention is one of the fastest negotiated treaties in the history of the United Nations, what with its adoption last December after only three years of negotiation.
Sir Leo Valdes provided inputs in Article 9 - Accessibility:

(g) To promote access for persons with disabilities to new information and communication technologies and systems, including theInternet; and (h) To promote the design, development, production and distribution of accessible information and communications technologies and systems at an early stage, so that these technologies and systems become accessible at minimum cost.

Disabled Peoples' International (DPI) World Assembly

NOTE: Abner Manlapaz, president of Life Haven attended the DPI Summit. He presented IL Movement status in the Philippines particularly activities directly related to our organization.

Seoul Declaration(Adopted at the Disabled Peoples' International (DPI) World Assembly on September 8,2007)

There are no human rights to which persons with disabilities do not lay claim. Upon this foundational principle at our last World Assembly in Sapporo, Disabled Peoples' International called upon Member States of the United Nations to adopt of a specific international human rights treaty on the rights of persons with disabilities.

Today, five years later, as a result of unprecedented collaboration by UN Member States, the international disability community, our global leaders and our allies, we have achieved this and much more. On December 13, 2006, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol. Negotiated in record time, with record participation, and signed on its opening day by a record number of countries, the Convention reflects our language and vision of disability rights. The Convention is not just about persons with disabilities, it is by us and for us and all of humanity. Our rights, our convention, that will benefit all.

Now, celebrating our achievements as we also celebrate DPI's quarter century of engagement in the struggle for human rights for all disabled people, the time has come to prepare ourselves and our allies for the future and our participation in ratification and implementation of this historic new treaty. We the 2700 people of DPI gathered here in Seoul for our 7th　World Assembly, declare that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as a core international human rights treaty, shall be the foundation for all laws, policies and practices addressing the rights of persons with disabilities.

Therefore we call on:

a. All Governments, including the Republic of Korea, to move swiftly and with conviction to sign and ratify the Convention, so that it may enter into force by December 13th, 2007.

b. All States Parties to vigorously uphold their treaty obligations, working with us to breathe life into the words of the Convention, so that its vision may be reflected in the everyday lives of all people with disabilities.

c. All international human rights bodies and mechanisms to engage people with disabilities, so that the standards set by the Convention are fully reflected in their work.

d. All UN agencies to actively include disability and people with disabilities in their programming, so that the international cooperation they promote furthers the objectives of the Convention.

e. All National Human Rights Institutions to promote awareness, knowledge of and compliance with the Convention, so that national-level implementation may become a reality.

f. All Development Agencies to fully utilize the Convention as a tool in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, so that all people with disabilities may benefit equally from full and sustainable development.

g. All members of Civil Society to commit to Convention ratification and implementation, so that we may work in partnership to achieve our common goal of a just and equal society for all.

h. All our sisters and brothers in the struggle for disability liberation to make Convention ratification and implementation a priority in their work, so that together we may finally realize the human rights to which we have always laid claim.

IL-PC AT POC

3 Days IL Peer Counseling Seminar Workshop for Patients with Disabilities


Life Haven and SCI Foundation conducted Peer Counseling Seminar Workshop at Philippine Orthopedic Center last September 12 to 14, 2007. The seminar workshop, funded by Toyota Foundation of Japan, introduced Independent Living Philosophy and Peer Counseling to patients who are about to be discharged. 14 rehab patients participated during the first day. We were fortunate enough to have six participants finish the three-day course the others were unable to do so due to reasons beyond our control. The seminar workshop is geared towards formation of support group of peers to enable patients with disabilities to accept their new situation and face life with self-determination, thru self-choice and take self-responsibility.

We intend to continue this noteworthy project to contribute in the preparation of newly-disabled persons to live independently when they return to their families and live in the community.

Life Haven, the first meeting

This picture was taken during the inception of our organization Life Haven. Even then we cannot get a 100% attendance. There are numerous concerns PWDs have to prepare just to get out and attend meetings like this. This is not a complaint just stating a fact.

Disability and PWDs as Seen Through History

The nomads considered people with disabilities useless because they could not contribute to the wealth of their tribe. Whenever the tribe moved on to a new location, people with disabilities were left behind and die.

The Greeks sought rational reasons for disability. They reached such conclusions as: epilepsy was a disturbance of the mind; and deaf people could not learn because communication was essential to learning.

Early Christianity brought a period of sympathy and pity toward people with disabilities. Churches began organizing services for people with disabilities within their congregations and homes. Many Christians believe that disability is some sort of impurity. This impurity could be purged through worship and forgiveness of sins, including the belief that with enough prayer and rituals the disability could be eliminated.

During the Middle Ages, Christians became fearful of people with disabilities as their attraction to supernaturalism increased. People with disabilities were also ridiculed, such as court jester who was actually someone with a humped back. People with disabilities were not only ridiculed but persecuted as well. Disability became a manifestation of evil.

The Renaissance brought the conception of medical care and treatment for people with disabilities. Education was available to people with disabilities for the first time in history. An enlightened approach to social norms that dreams for better future seemed to encourage active participation of people with disabilities in their respective communities.This is not to say that people with disabilities were not often institutionalized. Periods from the Renaissance through World War 2 indicated that society believed people with disabilities might be educated, but usually in "special" schools, far from urban or heavily populated areas.

During the 1930s in Hitler’s Germany, people with disabilities, most notably those with mental retardation and mental illness, became the Gestapo's first guinea pigs in medical experimentation and mass execution. Before the SS began mass extermination of Jews, Gays and Lesbians and other minorities and their supporters, people with disabilities were all put to death by Hitler's concentration camp staff.

INDEPENDENT LIVING: PHILOSOPHY AND MOVEMENT

Independent Living is a philosophy and a movement of people with disabilities who work for self-determination, equal opportunities and self-respect.Independent Living does not mean that we want to do everything by ourselves and do not need anybody or that we want to live in isolation. Independent Living means that we demand the same choices and control in our every-day lives that our non-disabled brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends take for granted. We want to grow up in our families, go to the neighborhood school, use the same bus as our neighbors, work in jobs that are in line with our education and abilities, start families of our own. Just as everybody else, we need to be in charge of our lives, think and speak for ourselves. To this end we need to support and learn from each other, organize ourselves and work for political changes that lead to legal protection of our human and civil rights
by Dr. Adolf D. RatzkaInstitute on Independent Living, Stockholm, SwedenPresentation at the conference "Our Common World" organized by Disability Rights Advocates Hungary in Siofok, Hungary, May 9-11, 1997

Jala-Jala, Rizal IL Peer Counseling Seminar

May of 2007, Life Haven and SCI Foundation in cooperation with Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, Inc. conducted an IL Peer Counseling Seminar Workshop at Bahay San Leonardo (San Leonardo House) in Jala-jala, Rizal. Tahanang Walang Hagdanan (TWH) is the biggest institution in the Philippines with several Sheltered Workshops and Residential Institutions scattered across the Philippines. TWH is advocating Independent Living and is promoting inclusion and barrier-free country. Fourteen persons with disabilities attended the 3- day seminar workshop. Life Haven (LHI) and Tahanang Walang Hagdanan (TWH) are looking forward to more activities and programs like this.

Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC) Peer Counseling Introduction

April 2007, Life Heaven held an IL orientation seminar in Philippine Orthopedic Center as part of their Psychological Service of the Rehabilitation Department. This opened doors for a possible new program of the hospital for patients about to be discharged.

Abner Manlapaz, Life Haven Rep to APNIL

December of 2006, former trainees of APCD were invited for a Refresher Course of the IL program at APCD in Bangkok, Thailand. APCD and Human Care Association gave recognition to the achievements of Life Haven. During the training, the Asia Pacific Network for Independent Living (APNIL) was established to link all the IL Centers in the Asia-Pacific Region. The president of Life Haven is one of the committee members of APNIL.

February of 2006, more Filipinos were invited for another Training of Managerial Personnel of Independent Living Centers and Peer Counselors for Persons with Disabilities at APCD in Bangkok, Thailand. Abner Manlapaz was invited as one of the Assistant Resource Persons for this International Training Workshop. Benjamin Bernandino was one of the participants from the Philippines.

PEER COUNSELING TRAINER'S TRAINING

August 2005, Peer Counseling Leadership Training was held in Cebu attended by members of SCIF, HACI Cebu, HACI de Oro and Life Haven. Benjamin Bernandino and Nestor Baltazar were among the participants of this Training Workshop.

Life Haven Establishment

July 2005, Life Heaven was established to promote the Independent Living philosophy and encourage all persons with disabilities to open Independent Living Centers by reaching out and giving seminar workshops to persons with disabilities especially the severely disabled beginning from Valenzuela City and adjacent cities and municipalities of Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Independent Living Philosopy Starts in the Philippines

Since the late 1960’s the disabled people had been demanding for their rights in the Philippines.
In celebration of the Biwako Millennium Framework and the Proclamation 240 of President Glorai Macapagal-Arroyo, Human Care Association of Japan reached out to Disabled People’s Organizations (DPO) per island group last 2004, namely Spinal Cord Injury Foundation (SCIF) from Metro Manila and Handicapped Anchored in Christ, Inc (HACI) of Cebu and had a Peer Counseling seminar workshop in Cebu.

November of 2004, Abner Manlapaz was invited by Human Care Association to go to Hachioji, Tokyo in Japan for a more Intensive Leadership training on Peer Counseling.

March of 2005, Abner Manlapaz, one of the six leaders from the Philippines who received training on Independent Living was invited to the Asia Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD) in Bangkok, Thailand for Training of Managerial Personnel of Independent Living Centers for Persons with Disabilities. Since then, there is a continuous study and learning on Independent Living, which later on was shared with their relatives, friends and colleagues.

Life Haven, Inc.VMG

Life Haven Incorporated is an organization duly registered at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 7th, 2005. We aim to present Independent Living Concept in a new perspective.

We envision a society where people with disabilities are independent, self-determined and participates actively in promoting self-development.

It is our mission to lead the establishment of Independent Living centers in the Philippines as its vehicle towards full empowerment, integration and participation in the community.

Our goals are to lead and promote IL philosophy and concept among PWDs and non-PWDs.

1. To equip PWDs with the necessary knowledge and skills to exercise the IL philosophy and concept.

2. To define the criteria of an IL center based on Japan Council on Independent Living Center.

3. To mobilize resources both local and foreign in the establishment of IL centers.

4. To work in partnership with other organizations who share similar aims and objectives.

5. To provide other services that might properly be considered appropriate for the furtherance of the aims and objectives of the organization.

Mabuhay!

Mabuhay! Welcome! Konichiwa! Hola!