I played Kuya to this kid yesterday.
Her name is Edelyn Garcia, a 16 year old visually impaired kid from Blumentrit, Manila. Today is a special day for her & her friends from PAVIC (Parent Advocates for the Visually Impaired Children), they will have a chance to visit the Manila Zoo.
To make their zoo visit special, we at PiPho organized a group of photographers to cover these kids interaction with the animals.
The Zoo was opened to the kids & their families, likewise we entered the facility for free, Canon Philippines & Aperture Trading brought printers for us to print our “best shots” & give to the kids as token & remembrance. Three vets & a zoo volunteer were also there to provide us with the assistance we may need.
The zoo keepers & animal handlers were as hospitable as they can be, they were so eager to help the kids, & educate them as well.
In a little chit-chat with Edelyn, she told me that this was not her first time to visit the zoo but for her, this was the best, now she was able to touch the animals & in some way interact with them.
Five news agencies were there to cover the event, Manila Bulletin, Associated Press, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Europress & Reuters, I haven’t checked the papers today but I was able to see this photo from gmanews.tv.
This was not the first time I played Kuya to a visually impaired kid, when I heard Edelyn’s story, I remembered Gary. Like Edelyn, Gary was infected by German Measles when he was a kid & infected his eyes. I was his Kuya & best friend, he would go to our house & talk about anything, we go to Church together & play.
Gary was 15 when he succumbed to pneumonia, I remember his mother telling me that Gary was looking for me while he was in his death bed.
Edelyn is living a “normal” life, she’s an incoming freshman at Ramon Magsaysay High School. She was the second honor in her class.
The experience was humbling & a learning experience for me, I am looking forward to another encounter with them or maybe another group of wonderful people.
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9 responses so far ↓
1 manilenya // Apr 21, 2008 at 4:10 am
nakaka touch naman yan ..galing kuya
2 rems // Apr 21, 2008 at 9:40 am
wala akong masabi pero nadala ako sa totoong pagkakalarawan ng mga kuha mo.
3 bertN // Apr 22, 2008 at 10:04 am
You guys are doing a great job for these disadvantaged kids. More power to you! Let me know if there is something I can do to help out.
4 karmi // Apr 22, 2008 at 11:56 am
wow. ok na experience nga yan kuya.
parang nga lang syang ordinaryong bata. galing nya.
5 Belen // Apr 22, 2008 at 9:54 pm
muka namang nag-enjoy yung bata. It’s nice to do something for others.
6 matt // Apr 23, 2008 at 2:11 am
Nice activitity… and great experience too for all… especially for the kids… Even though they can’t see those nice animals, they feel it without fear….
7 Give me a cameraphone & I will shoot // Apr 28, 2008 at 9:18 am
[...] Our activity last April 19, 2008 was published by Inquirer.net today, also, check out my latest assignment [...]
8 Daily Photos Project » Feeding Mali // May 7, 2008 at 3:36 pm
[...] she fed Mali with peanuts, Edelyn is a visually impaired child who became my little sister when we visited the Manila Zoo. 19. April 2008, 09:49 show comments (0) Posted in: Animals, Parks Tagged with: [...]
9 Arlene // May 11, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Hello! How do we get in touch with PAVIC? Would appreciate your quick response. Thanks and more power.
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