SO & ALYANA in Libmanan & Naga City

Quite a success! The showings of SILENT ODYSSEY and ALYANA to schoolteachers, caregivers, persons with disabilities, DSWD and LGU unit personnel of Libmanan and Naga City in Camarines Sur received positive responses when they were shown last October 14 and 15. The two-day screenings were held as part of the celebration of the Children’s Month.

(For photos taken during the said event by Naga Help Learning in Naga City, please click album.php?id=147365465306831&aid=26246)

Libmanan Deaf students perform

Libmanan-KALINGA SPED and Rehabilitation Center, Local Government Unit-Libmanan in cooperation with Help Learning Center Foundation Inc. sponsored the whole-day screening at Libmanan while The Naga City Council for the Welfare and Protection of Children, Terre des Hommes-Netherlands, Autism Society Philippines and Help Learning Center Foundations sponsored the showings at the Naga City Civic Center. Mayor Marilyn Jimenez, the municipal mayor of Libmanan gave an inspirational message to her constituents while in Naga City, it was the event’s overall head, the Executive Director of HELP Learning Center Foundation, a soft-spoken yet very energetic person, neurologist Dr. Fe Delos Reyes who welcomed and gave the audience an inspirational message.

Open Forum after the showings held at Naga Youth Center in Bicol

It was my first time in the Bicol region. I arrived at the Naga City airport located in Pili, Camarines Sur with Dang Koe, chair emeritus of the Autism Society Philippines at around 7:30 am., Thursday, Oct. 14. We were then dropped at CBD Hotel in Naga City and had breakfast with Dr. De Los Reyes and “M’am” Ester Maralit, HELP Admin Officer. I then proceeded to Libmanan, an hour-drive away from Naga City while Dang proceeded to Naga City Civic Center to hold the TEACCH seminar.

Showing of Silent Odyssey in Libmanan

Although the screening venues were not the usual and ideal rooms [not dark as I always request for when it comes to venues] as they were both open halls and therefore naturally well-lighted; and the LCD projector’s lumens of light is low, therefore brightness and contrast wasn’t there,  still resourcefulness comes in, as curtains, blackboards, manila paper and whatever can be used to darken the screen wall in a way helped solve the problem. Despite that, the audience response were very encouraging as they acknowledged how they learned and found them both enlightening. ALYANA touched the hearts as always of the viewers, while SILENT O touched their minds as they questioned a lot about sign language. They also asked for sign language books and how would regular teachers be taught formally to be able to handle their Deaf students properly. In both places, they requested and made an appeal for a seminar, or a workshop on formal sign language teaching. Mrs. Daisy Antonio of Libmanan gave assurance re their support in holding such type of workshop in cooperation with DepEd. Meanwhile, in Naga City Ms. ALma Guia Guirvela who has a Deaf husband approached me about the possibility of showing Silent O to the Deaf local community of Bicol as part of the first Deaf Awareness Day that they are planning to hold next month. A few Deaf attended the screening because not all were aware what the film is about. If that pushes through, direct target audience would be the Deaf sector.

Right now, my mission is to connect them with the Deaf community, specifically the Philippine Federation of the Deaf, Philippine Deaf Resource Center and probably DLS-CSB School of Deaf Education and Allied Studies where I studied sign language where my hope is high that the answer to their appeal, or should I say dream, will be realized.

I also managed to show A BLIND ARCHITECT in both places.

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