CEBU, Philippines – Best Buddies Philippines led their first “friendship” walk with the youth sector and advocates at the Robinsons Galleria Cebu in Cebu City on Saturday, March 29, to raise awareness and advocate inclusion for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
Established in 2020, Best Buddies Philippines has been championing the rights of persons with IDD through programs like integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living. One of their main flagship programs, One-to-one Friendships, match persons with IDD with volunteers who help foster emotional and social connection.
Hundreds of inclusivity experts, student leaders, and community heads joined the friendship walk that featured multiple creative hubs and therapy centers to help encourage more families to seek support required for their loved ones with IDD.
The theme of the event is “Steps of Hope, Strides of Friendship” and the walk is also a part of a global movement of social inclusion and friendship, raising funds to support Best Buddies programs.
“These are all opportunities that your children can take advantage of when being invited to the Best Buddies programs. It’s collaborative, it’s where everyone can be involved…It takes a village, it takes a community, and it takes a mindset of the movement,” Best Buddies Philippines Executive Director Michelle Aventajado said.
Aventajado herself is also a participant of the Buddies program. The executive director shared her pleasant experience with her partnered neurodivergent friend, spending time hanging out in the mall or doing arts and crafts—ultimately, sharing special moments that contribute to her friend’s better welfare.
According to the executive director, Best Buddies Philippines has also provided a series of sensitivity training and workshops for companies like Robinsons Malls.
Inclusivity for all
Children’s Paradise Montessori School (CPMS) founder and president Marivic Bathan believes that inclusivity advocates have to exert more effort in spreading awareness of the needs of children with IDD.
“We have the law, we have the implementing rules and regulations. It’s just a matter of really executing and implementing it,” the advocate told Rappler.
In March 2022, Republic Act No. 11650, also known as the Inclusive Education Act, was enacted to institute a nationwide policy for inclusion and services for learners with disabilities.
The new law mandates inclusive education for students with disabilities in all public and private schools. It also pushes for the creation of Inclusive Learning Resource Centers (ILRCs) to implement the Child Find System, which identifies, locates, and evaluates students with disabilities who are not receiving education services.
For Bathan, families must take the charge in early intervention and detection of IDD in children by seeking support from experts.
“We better get started building awareness among families, then the support from school, empowering them to provide that avenue to educate parents,” Bathan said.
However, in a December 2024 public hearing, officials of the Department of Education stated that delays in the publication of the IRR for the Inclusive Education Act have hampered the implementation of the law.
“We’re hoping for more collaboration, for more connection, for more families to find support,” Bathan concluded. – Rappler.com