The hall of the RegionalTrainingCenter of the Technical Services Development Authority (TESDA) regional office was alive with sounds of cheers,  laughter, and talk.  It was filled mostly with young people who are scholars of the Cash for Training (C4TP) Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the TESDA.  The event  :  Culmination Rites of a two – month vocational course sponsored jointly by the two government entities.

From the crowd,  I saw one person who took my fancy – a rather short boy who walked in a limping mode.  I was mistaken,  for he is a full grown man of 38 years old,  but whose physical development was hampered because of an inborn defect.  Still,  his appearance tells he is a young and innocent boy . . . but not until our main actor, Arnel Baldos,  told his story.

“I was ten years old when I was able to walk,”  Arnel said of his bodily condition.  “My parents had my legs massaged in “Binisaya” ( using herbal plants ) so I could gradually walk.   Indeed, it worked, but looking at him, his feet were not in a normal state.  They were twisted !

Also,  when he talks, I can sense that he hasn’t level up his maturity with his age.

Born in poverty,  he could not enroll in College.  There were six children in the family, he being the youngest.  Arnel’s father was a small rice farmer and his mother, a housewife.  The family lives in Barangay Bairan, in the sleepy town of San Miguel of Leyte province.

Said Arnel,  he would try his luck in the “Swertres” lottery just so fortune would knock at their door one day.  For him, it was his only hope for freedom from a miserable life !

In year 2009,  with the DSWD’s strong advocacy on the Magna Carta Law,  he actively involved himself with activities that aim to promote the welfare of his fellow Persons with Disabilities ( PWDs ).  Arnel then  became the president of the Municipal Federation of Persons with Disabilities in his locality, for a term of three years.

His journey towards productivity, then, begun.  As he narrated,  Arnel would always keep on expressing his innermost gratitude to the DSWD and their Local Social Welfare Office headed by Annabelle Agner.  I can feel that the work of convergence between the DSWD, TESDA, and the local government has, indeed, touched his life !

Arnel just completed this first week of September a two-month Consumer Electronic Servicing course,  but he still have to undergo a two – month on-the-job training.  He opted to go into self – employment afterwards.  “I ‘ll have to put up my own little shop in our town,  and it would primarily cater to television repairs, “  the scholar revealed.

His batch mates at TESDA’s RegionalTrainingCenter,  311 of them,  receive too a Php 20,000.00 scholarship package.  Alicia Severino,  the program’s focal person of the DSWD Field Office Eight, however, said their allowance will depend on the vocational course they have chosen.

For instance,  the training cost of Arnel’s course amounts to Php 6,000.00,  with an assessment fee of Php 500.00.  Since he plans to go into business later,  part of his money will be deducted for the purchase of a tool kit costing Php 6, 200. The balance of Php7,300.00 will be for his allowance.

Looking at his eyes,  I can see the spark that spells hope for a brighter and better tomorrow.  The way he speaks tells me he is now a changed person, and more confident and sure of himself.

“This is the way where our young people should be going,”  DSWD Regional Director Remia Tapispisan announced.  She explained that the program seeks to empower the needy youth through sustainable livelihood or gainful employment so that they will be a part of community – building.

These youth, who were identified by the DSWD and the local social welfare and development offices,  were among the 11,000 young people who were assessed as eligible under the Expanded Government Internship Program last year. Only a little over 3,000 youth were accommodated in said program; hence,  they were offered another opportunity.

Arnel does not belong to the 18 to 30 required age,  but his delayed mental and physical make – up qualified him for the program.  Inspite of that,  his disabilities would not prevent him from catching up with his dreams.  The C4TP has guided him to tread the right path to success !  For sure, he will get there,  with an enormous amount of patience plus determination that is the exact formula for reaching that “star.”