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Saturday, August 23, 2003
10 blind students hurdle computer-training program
By May Anne Cacdac
IN LINE with the celebration of the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week and the International White Cane Day, 10 visually impaired but competent students from the city will be recognized Saturday afternoon in simple rites at the Silungan Center for successfully completing an exploratory course in computer training.
City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD) Officer Betty Fangasan said the training, dubbed Project Adaptive Technology Training Resource and Access Center (Project Attrac), "stands for the equalization of opportunities in the education and employment of the visually impaired persons by making information technology accessible to them."
Conducted by the Adaptive Technology for the Rehabilitation, Integration and Empowerment of the Visually Impaired, a Manila-based non-governmental organization, the training includes setting text to speech, enhancing images, utilizing alternative visual aides and reading references like e-books and embossed materials.
Project Attrac began in October 1999 as the first comprehensive literacy-training program for the blind in the country.
The program course, "Office Productivity and Transcription for the Visually Impaired," is administered to qualified blind individuals through a socialized tuition fee scheme.
Applicants for the course must have at least completed high school, have basic typing knowledge and skills, and knowledgeable in the Braille system.
Councilor Federico Mandapat Jr., chair of the City Council committee on the handicapped and disabled, earlier lamented the current status of the differently-abled persons saying employment opportunities are few and limited.
Moreover, the councilor said the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons is hardly being implemented.
Under the law, owners of establishments are required to employ persons with disabilities to make up five percent of their workforce.
However, Mandapat said that employers would rather employ able persons, citing it is more profitable for the business.
"This is despite the fact that PWDs post a significantly higher productivity rate compared to abled persons," the councilor said.
Relative to this, the councilor, in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (Tesda), are bent on enhancing skills and potentials of PWDs by conducting trainings and seminars on livelihood opportunities and sustainable development.
(August 23, 2003 issue)
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