At first glance, you would just see them as smiling kids. But the moment they start to move, it becomes evident that they are children with special needs.
"Nahibaw-an nako nga naay something different sa akong anak atong pagtungtong niya ug 1 year old (I first noticed that something was different with my son when he reached 1 year old)," said one mother. She had observed that her child wasn't like the other kids his age because he couldn't crawl nor talk at all.
It was only during a medical mission in their locality that she discovered the truth about her son.
"Ingon ang doktor nga mentally challenged akong baby and naa siya'y cerebral palsy (The doctor said that my baby was mentally challenged and had cerebral palsy)," the mother added as she explained the situation.
But things were about to change that fateful day on 18 February 2016 when mother and son along with 14 others received intermediate wheelchairs from LDS Charities in partnership with Physicians for Peace at the Cebu Temple Complex of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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Dr. Jeffrey Montes of Physicians for Peace, Christine Ruedas of CHAMP’S Therapy Center, medical interns from Cebu Doctors University and Velez College, and Mormon Helping Hands volunteers volunteers all came together to provide assistance to the recipients and their families.
LDS Charities in cooperation with Physicians for Peace facilitated the assessments which were made several weeks in advance to make sure that the wheelchairs properly and comfortably accommodate the recipient.
Unlike the standard wheelchair, children with body deformation challenges need additional features like body harnesses and a head rest to help keep them upright comfortably and securely. Intermediate wheelchairs also have trays in front of them where food can be placed to facilitate feeding and where tray top activities can be done. Technicians also need to do client follow-ups to determine if additional modifications are needed, thus, a tool kit is also provided along with being trained on how to modify the chair.
For one mother whose child is a recipient, the wheelchair meant so much more than just an assisstive device, it was a wheel of hope. “Basta makasturya na ni akong baby ug human sa mga therapy, ako ning i-try ug paskwelahon.”One medical volunteer also commented on the impact of the intermediate wheelchairs to the special children and their families. “It gives them hope...It helps them not to limit themselves. They can now do more,” she shared.
Philippines is one of the the only two countries in the world where intermediate wheelchairs are provided by LDSC to children with cerebral palsy other than Indonesia.
Sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, LDS Charities is an application of the admonition of Jesus Christ to help others in need. Jesus Christ taught His followers to give meat to the hungry and drink to those who thirst. His is a gospel that includes taking in the stranger, loving neighbors as self, and visiting those who are sick or imprisoned. He taught that we are to love and care for each other, visit the fatherless and widows in their afflictions, and lift up those whose hands hang down and whose knees are feeble.