Reaching Out to Hearing-Impaired Children
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| Group photo in front of Aqua Planet with the Philippine Institute for the Deaf (PID) students & faculties, Rakso Travel volunteer team, & Aqua Planet organizing team. |
During
my MBA course, one of the subjects that gave me a fuller picture of running a
business was Corporate Social Responsibility, better known as CSR. It is a
significant business practice that aims not only to grow the business, but also
contribute to the betterment of society. Although providing jobs is already a
huge help to the community, CSR utilizes other means to create an impact on
society. Such practice may be done at the discretion of the company, hence it
is not mandatory.
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| The Philippine Institute for the Deaf (PID) in Pandacan, Manila, NCR |
This
year, Rakso Travel and Aqua Planet organized a joint CSR event
for the benefit of the students of the Philippine
Institute for the Deaf (PID). The Philippine Institute for the Deaf is an
institution that helps deaf children and aims to empower them to “listen, learn,
and talk”. Moreover, it is one of the two successful school projects of
the Sergia Esguerra Memorial Foundation
Inc.
The
event took place last October 20, 2019 in which 33 students of PID were granted
a privileged tour in the Aqua Planet Water Park. With the theme A Silent Heartbeat, the program was
created to give the students an opportunity to have fun just like other
able-bodied children.
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| The water park vicinity map. |
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| This ride is called Hurricane, one of the extreme water rides at Aqua Planet |
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| Try this colorful Octopus Racers Rides of Aqua Planet |
Aqua
Planet, the biggest water park in the Philippines, is located in Clark Freeport
Zone, Pampanga. The water park offers various kinds of activities, from pleasant
and relaxing attractions to extreme and exciting water rides.
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| The wave pool. |
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| Here is the colorful kiddie pool. |
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| Another extreme ride, the Tornado. |
Volunteering
as a Chaperone
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| With me from left to right, Mico, Vic, and Ethan |
RaksoTravel (one of the biggest travel agencies in the Philippines), being the major organizer of the event, put together a volunteer team
to accompany the students during the tour. Naturally, I joined the team and for
the first time, I dedicated an entire day to do a task given by the company.
Actually, I’m not your typical friendly person. Hence, I was a bit worried about dealing with the children. I even asked myself “Are you really up for it?” Well, too bad for me. Backing out was not an option since there were only 2 days left before the event.
I was
assigned to chaperone three students: Mico, Vic, and Ethan (Ethan joined
another group later on). During the tour, I realized that I had been worried
for nothing. The children were amazing and could interact very well. Even
though they have problems with hearing and speaking, they can still communicate
in a way that is understood by ordinary people like me.
It was fun being with them. They were all smiles and enthusiastic about the tour. There were no dull moments as they were very active and brave. Thanks to their enthusiasm, I was able to go for the extreme water rides which I was reluctant to try at first. One thing that came to my notice was their discipline. Despite their excitement, they were still well behaved and followed all instructions to the letter.
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| The Volunteer Team. From left, first row: Kate Palma, Thesa Fabriga, Khaye Cebu, Andrea Abril; from left, 2nd row: Nica Guballa, Paula Meren & Charito Nario (the author) |
As part of the volunteer team, I found this experience truly worthwhile. It puts my view of volunteering in perspective. That is, I used to think that I was giving others a favor when I do volunteer work. But I learn that it’s actually the other way around. The impact of other people on me is much greater than what I did for them. It was not I who touched their lives; it was they who touched mine. Having come to that realization, I can say now that I can willingly do another volunteer work.
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| The Volunteer Team. (First row) Ajah Avilla; (from left, 2nd row) Kate Palma, Charito (the author), Khaye Cebu; (from left, 3rd row) Thesa Fabriga, and Elly Versoza; (from left, 4th row) Nicole Silario, and Nica Guballa |
Watch this full video created by Rakso Travel.
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AUTHOR’S
NOTES About the Simple Act of Charity Series
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