San Fernando City, La Union – To further empower persons with disabilities (PWDs), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd) to implement a literacy project for this sector.

Dubbed “I LOVE PWDs” Project, it aims to develop desirable working knowledge, attitudes, values and skills of PWDs to help them cope with challenges in life.

“I LOVE PWDs” stands for Interactive Learning Operations Via Education for Persons With Disabilities.

Under the project, 35 teachers who have undergone special training on managing PWDs will conduct free home learning sessions to the beneficiaries.

They will use the five learning modules of DepEd’s Alternative Learning System (ALS) such as writing, communication, numeracy skills, critical thinking and problem solving, and moral recovery program.

To date, there are 50 PWD-beneficiaries of the project coming from different places in Ilocos Region.

“This project has been a big help to us. We appreciate the efforts of DSWD and DepEd for opening opportunities to improve our status in life,” a beneficiary said

DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said that this project will help PWDs boost their self-esteem and self-worth.

She encourages other DSWD Field Offices to adopt the program in their respective areas.

According to Dr. Edwin Ferrer, Officer-In-Charge of DepEd-ALS, the PWDs under this program have improved their self-confidence.

“They are not afraid of other people anymore. Their learning capacity is also enhanced,” Dr. Ferrer said.

For his part, DSWD-Field Office I Director Marcelo Nicomedes Castillo said that the “I Love PWDs” Project is essential in preparing the PWDs for higher learning in formal or non-formal institutions like the DSWD–Area 1 Vocational Rehabilitation Center (AVRC).

“The AVRC provides skills training to PWDs such as basic computer operation, canteen management, and massage therapy,” he explained.

For the teachers, sharing their time and knowledge is their own little way  of making a difference in the lives of  PWDs. ###