COTABATO CITY— The Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) conducted on Monday, July 18, a house-to-house distribution of assistive devices to seven (7) persons with disability (PWD) in this city.
The devices were part of the 64 mobility aids the MSSD delivered in the city on July 15, which included 33 wheelchairs with commode, 5 sets of underarm adjustable crutch for adult, 4 sets of underarm pediatric adjustable crutch, 11 adjustable canes, 10 folding canes for blind, and one walker cane.
According to Sandra Macacua, focal person of MSSD’s Older Persons and Persons with Disability Welfare Program (OPPWDWP), the beneficiaries of the devices will also receive a monthly subsidy amounting to Php500.00 from the ministry’s Kalinga Para sa May Kapansanan Program.
“Ang pinaka target natin dito ay yung indigent na PWDs, ibig sabihin yung mga mahihirap, yung mga talagang nangangailangan ng services na ito,” Macacua said.
Qualified beneficiaries were assessed and validated by the Office of the City Social Welfare Division (OCSWD).
“Libo-libo akong nagpapasalamat sa inyo dahil sa maagang pag-response sa pangangailangan ko ng wheelchair at malaking tulong po ito sa’kin,” said one of the beneficiaries HajaTonina Sahipa, 67, from Mother Barangay Bagua. She is currently taking medication for stroke.
Present during the house-to-house distribution were Cotabato City Administrator Atty. Aelan Arumpac and MSSD Chief-of-Staff Lyca Therese Sarenas, among others. The distribution was also part of the commemoration of the 44th National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NDPR) week from July 17-23. (Myrna Tepadan/BIO)
