Leyte Island Association for the Deaf would not have been born and cared for without the support of IDEA. Through the partnership, IDEA is supporting about 149 deaf children through four elementary schools and one high school. It is because of IDEA that the deaf children in its funded programs have the chance for a “tomorrow” and can actually “live” rather than just exist without understanding their potential and purpose in life.
On October 15, 2013 a 7.2 magnitude earthquake shook Bohol that destroyed homes, more than 300 year old churches, bridges, and other structures and turned them into piles of rubble. LIAD had originally hoped to show their great appreciation to IDEA, who birthed her, in a different circumstance; however, due to the calamity, LIAD took up the challenge and decided to turn the negative situation into an outlet of opportunity by uniting to show their love and concern to IDEA through a relief operation project.
The funded programs of IDEA rallied the support of the students, teachers, and friends to come up with donations to send to Bohol. The following is a glimpse of what each of the funded programs did in order to show their support to IDEA.
Maasin Principal Overssing Donations
Maasin City SpEd Center: Through the leadership of the SpEd Principal, the whole SpEd Center was involved. Students from the Fast Learners, Intellectual Disabilities, and other classes came into the principal’s office bringing in their bag of canned goods, noodles, rice, and other food. Parents of the Hearing Impaired also brought in their donations to the IDEA funded dormitory within the campus.
Macrohon Jump for a Cause
Macrohon Hearing Impaired Class: The families of the deaf students came bringing with them their monetary donations. One family did not have any cash on hand; so instead, the father of the two deaf children went up to the mountains to search for what he could give and handed bundles of bananas to the teacher hoping that their donation would also make a difference. The teachers also practiced ingenuity by making use of a trampoline donated to the SpEd class. Elementary students from the SpEd and Regular classes came lining up to pay Php 5/ 3 minutes to enjoy bouncing on the trampoline. “Jump for a Cause” was their tag line.
Sogod Hearing Impaired Class: The deaf students also participated by passing around jars that students and concerned citizens can put money in at school. One deaf student told officials of his village and they also contributed some amount of money.
Ormoc Elementary SpEd Center and High School Class: Ormoc has been a beneficiary of IDEA for more than ten years. Upon hearing the news, the teachers for the Deaf sprang into action. The support from teachers and the schools itself was apparent. Parents whose children stay in the Ormoc Dormitory were also participative in providing goods or monetary donations to be sent to Bohol.
IDEA has invested so much to the deaf community in the province of Leyte over the years. Giving back and helping in this time of crisis for IDEA (and the island of Bohol) is only one of the ways to show support to the Organization and be a part of the lives of other deaf beneficiaries and victims in grief-stricken Bohol.