|
 The
Volunteers for the Rehabilitation of the Handicapped and the Disabled,
Inc. (VRHD) is a SEC-registered, non-stock, non-profit, non-government
organization operating in the City of Bacolod and in the Province
of Negros Occidental. It was organized last November 27, 1979 with
the primary objective of providing rehabilitation, medical, livelihood,
education, nutrition and advocacy services to indigent patients,
persons with disabilities (PWDs), and special children. Through
these services, PWDs and the special children will be given the
necessary capacities to fully participate in the mainstream of everyday
life in their respective homes, neighborhood and community.
Among
the special programs the foundation is placing special attention
to are the education, livelihood and medical components, especially
for the special children and persons with disabilities (PWDs).
The
education component of the VRHD established the Pre-Learning Center
created last 1991 to cater special children and to give them relevant
interventions appropriate for their respective disabilities. These
interventions, which include among others, physical therapy, nutrition,
and medical supplementation, have completed and expanded the educational
program of the foundation. The special children are provided with
continuous education services from pre-school until they have graduated
college. The organization provide free transportation allowances,
school supplies, uniforms, physical rehabilitation equipment and
facilities, books and other school materials.
The
center has also become a halfway home, where scholars are trained
and prepared to become responsible members of society. After they
have passed the evaluation tests, scholars are integrated to Bacolod
SPED Center for a higher level of education until they have graduated
to the elementary level. The education program of the organization
caters to special children from five (5) years old to twenty-eight
(28) years old.
 For
the livelihood program, VRHD provides skills training, seminars
and workshops to PWDs and their immediate families. A small room
to exhibit the products made by PWDs and a working space for the
sewers and knitters where they made their products for selling is
provided. A one-day fellowship workshop every Saturday is held for
the PWDs. The PWDs gather to attend and enjoy warm fellowship in
the VRHD Social room.
For
the medical component, VRHD provides free consultation and checkup,
free medicines, food assistance, free surgery and operation, eye
glasses and frames, crutches, wheelchairs, prosthesis, special chairs,
speech therapy, body braces, referrals to other agencies, transportation
allowances and other medical aid. The organization helped the indigent
patients with special cases through referrals to undergo treatment
or operation at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila.
Most special cases referred are hydrocephalus, rheumatic heart disease,
glaucoma, hemangioma, eye tumor, orbital tumor, meningocoele, breast
cancer and other physical deformities.
For
almost 22 years now, VRHD has been able to facilitate the employment
of persons with disabilities and helped the countless number of
PWDs and indigent patients not only in the City of Bacolod but as
well as all over the Province of Negros Occidental and even abroad.
Hence, the foundation sees the importance of continuing the educational,
medical and livelihood services for special children, PWDs and indigent
beneficiaries/patients in order for them to become productive citizens
and not as burden of the society.
The
management and operations of the VRHD is being undertaken by the
eleven (11) members of the Board of Directors. They are responsible
for fund-accessing and linkage-building in order to make the foundation
more accessible to its target clientele.
|
