n April 2010 the lease term of my daughter’s school for special children especially children with autism (CWA) in Quezon City, the Center for Developmental Intervention Foundation Inc. (CDIFI) will be over. Our school principal and the members of the board of trustees are not sure if they will still be able to secure a renewal of lease contract since they were told that the government has plans to put up a 6 story building at that lot they are leasing that will be used for the medical tourism plans for the country.
In 2010, if the election will push through, a new president will be in place, a new health secretary will be installed and a new chairman of Philippine Children’s Medical Hospital (PCMC) will be appointed. Will all the new officials that will be installed the CDIFI board of trustees are not sure if they will still grant a renewal of the lease.
CDIFI has been a school for special children for more than 20 years, they were put up in 1987 by doctors/neurologist/developmental pediatrician from the PCMC because they want to be able to completely monitor the case of their patients, since during that time there were no special schools or schools for children with autism (CWA) and other related diseases that involves learning disability.
Do we really need to become a tourist destination and cater for the tourist medical and health problems and leave our countrymen to worry on their own and find somewhere else to go regarding their health and welfare?
My daughter’s school will hold another board meeting by the end of July to find some solution and think of a way to lobby for a renewal of contract if not find a new place to relocate and lease.
Yesterday, we held a Parent Orientation and Parent meeting with the school principal and she told us about this problem and asked for our prayers and support. Today I am asking everyone to pray and help us. If you know people who got influence from the government, can you whisper to them to have compassion for the special children, the children with autism, who are benefits from CDIFI to renew their lease contract? (Here is the country’s present situation regarding autism welfare in the Philippines) (here is what the government can do regarding autism welfare)
CDIFI is a private school but it was located beside the Children’s hospital to be accessible for the doctors who referred children with special needs to study there so that they can monitor the child’s improvement and be able to hold a doctor, teacher, therapist and parent conference. Since the school was put up by doctors from the children’s hospital they were given a low lease price of more than P203,000 a year.
- If the school will move out this year the fees we are paying for their sessions will shoot up to 500%. With the present situation of this school which is put up by a non-profit foundation that amount is expensive. Parents with children with autism who have their child study there are mostly averaged income families, while some work so hard to be able to have their child’s intervention push through.
- If the school will move out and pay a higher rent the fee we pay will shoot up to amounts no average person can handle. More child with autism will not be able to learn and develop.
- If the school will move out there will be children with autism who will not be able to get intervention and education they need to become independent and a helpful member of the society.
- If the school will move out there is a possibility that the good teachers helping us there will rather go out of the country to have better income. It’s a sad fact that most of the good special education teachers choose to go abroad because the income is greater abroad than here.
- And the most dreadful of all if the lease contract will not pursue there is a possibility that the school will close down since the school does not have any funds for it. Some parents were not able to pay for their kids fee but the school still accepts them and the teachers still teach them as their moral responsibility. But still the school has bills to pay especially the teachers salary. They already have a more than a million deficit since last year.
My daughter has dramatically improved since she started her sessions at CDIFI. I love how my doctor and my teacher can talk about my daughter’s improvement and what areas they need to focus on. I love the fact that the staff in the food kiosk in that school are CWA’s. I love how accessible the vicinity of the school is to the hospital. I love how intensive their programs are. I love the fact that they are helping CWA’s for more than 20 years now.
Please help save my daughter’s school. Please be an angel to my daughter and other CWA. Please be my angel. Please be an Earth’s Angel for Autism. Pray that my daughter’s school be saved. Please tell God that whoever becomes the new leader of the country to have a heart for special children.
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29 Comments
The location of the school is perfect within the grounds of PCMC, too bad if the government will push through to build a 6 story building on the school location. The government has too many lands unoccupied and they should at least maximize it by providing locations to schools like the one your daughter is enrolled. Have you visited the Parks and Wildlife beside PCMC along Quezon Ave.? The park area is so big and DENR-PAWB doesn’t have enough funds to maintain it. Maybe the school admin or board can talk to PAWB administration and lease a space for your daughter’s school. The lease should be minimal since it is a government to government transaction and the park needs help in generating income. It may be an added cost per child but at least the location is a stone’s throw away from PCMC. PAWB officers are ok to talk to since Haribon Foundation had several events within the park for several years now. They welcome added funds for the maintenance of the park and animals brought to them injured or captured in the wild.
.-= lemuel´s last blog ..Haribon’s R&R at D Farm, Pampanga =-.
“the government has plans to put up a 6 story building at that lot they are leasing that will be used for the medical tourism plans for the country.”
Sounds like a noble plan on the government’s part. But if you’ll ask me, The current tenants of that lot (i.e. your daughter’s school) is already DOING a noble deed, by providing education for special children, giving them the chance to attain a certain degree of normalcy and cultivate their talents.
This kind of issues should be closely studied by our government and should take precedence over a plan that nobody really knows if would work out just as well as the school is already doing.
.-= Julius´s last blog ..Hepatitis and Dialysis Patients =-.
Hi…I add it on my FB account..
@Jed awww thanks. Nice to finally meet you too! Hope to see you @ more blog events too 🙂
Hi Earth!
It’s been nice to finally meet you yesterday at Sonnie’s event. Hope that we could meet with other bloggers as well. You’re a really nice person.
Have a great day! God Bless!
JeD Chan ^^v
.-= JeD Chan´s last blog ..Life Is Just A Matter Of Perspective =-.