Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Orientation to Organizations for People with Disabilities
From Lori Haldeman - Ace Reporter
On Monday 7/24/06 we went to the offices of the Foundation Cuesta Holguin in Ambato to hear of several organizations that are serving individuals with disability. Pablo, the very enthusiastic director of the Foundation.
Fundacin Cuesta Holguin: Founded by the Cuesta family in 1992. The mission of the foundation is to create opportunity while the foundation's vision is focused on human development and creating a self-sustainable way of living. Five projects were shared with the group.
1. A general health care clinic for people who cannot afford public services. They pride themselves on the respect and solidarity they provide their clients.
2. Creation of a shelter for street children that have been abused and are living in poverty. A priority goal is the reconnecting of these children with their families.
3. A computing and copy center: A vocational center run by people with disabilities.
4. Fundacioun Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe. A medical center located in a marginal urban neighborhood. They serve 150 persons daily & perform 25 surgeries per month. It is important to them to provide quality service and personal attention and to not see as many people as possible.
5. Illagua Chico: located in an indigenous community that is dedicated to agriculture. Their long term goal is to work with the community to create self- sustainability in a responsible manner.
Next we learned from Danilo Miranda about the Human Integration Network, Red de Integracion Humana, who work with and for people with disabilities. This organization works with companies to insert/include people wth disabilities among their work force. Their long term goal are to create awareness, overcome barriers, improve quality of live, and strengthen the institutions that assist the larger network.
The next organization we learned about is the Proyecto Incersion Socio-Laboral de Personas con Discapacidad en la Provincia de Tungurahua (social labor insertion). Important key points for this organization are that people with disabilities can work and participate. The idea being that people with disabilities need to work too! Their goal is to improve capacity and generate income to become a part of society. They hope to place 60 persons in the year 2006. Another goal is to increase awareness and to give people with disabilities skills and abilities.
From the Foundation we traveled on to the Instituto de Educacion Especial. It is a special education school that serves the Ambato area. They have 120 students, 12 teachers, 6 therapists (SLP, OT, PT, Hippotherapy, Psych services). They have existed for 30 years, first as volunteer, then through a foundation and currently as a public institution. The main disability areas they serve are Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation & Down Syndrome. They have 4 categories for education: 0-6 years, primary, productive center and a therapy center.
The last stop for the day was the Center for Independent Living. They serve the adult population. They are currently working on construction of a therapy room, have a sheltered workshop environment for people with disabilities and also run a copy center and internet cafe in the downtown area.
One of the products of the workshop is dog bones. Two people were demonstrating how they rolled up strips of rawhide and cut them for length. The length and overall size had to meet exact standards. The workers were very proficient at this and enjoyed sharing their expertise.
Heather asked if she could make a dogbone and the gentleman was quick to agree and supervise her work. Lots of pressure on Heather as we all watched. It turned out that Heather is an expert dog bone producer! The gentleman was so impressed that he made a special dog bone for her to take home.
On Monday 7/24/06 we went to the offices of the Foundation Cuesta Holguin in Ambato to hear of several organizations that are serving individuals with disability. Pablo, the very enthusiastic director of the Foundation.
Fundacin Cuesta Holguin: Founded by the Cuesta family in 1992. The mission of the foundation is to create opportunity while the foundation's vision is focused on human development and creating a self-sustainable way of living. Five projects were shared with the group.
1. A general health care clinic for people who cannot afford public services. They pride themselves on the respect and solidarity they provide their clients.
2. Creation of a shelter for street children that have been abused and are living in poverty. A priority goal is the reconnecting of these children with their families.
3. A computing and copy center: A vocational center run by people with disabilities.
4. Fundacioun Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe. A medical center located in a marginal urban neighborhood. They serve 150 persons daily & perform 25 surgeries per month. It is important to them to provide quality service and personal attention and to not see as many people as possible.
5. Illagua Chico: located in an indigenous community that is dedicated to agriculture. Their long term goal is to work with the community to create self- sustainability in a responsible manner.
Next we learned from Danilo Miranda about the Human Integration Network, Red de Integracion Humana, who work with and for people with disabilities. This organization works with companies to insert/include people wth disabilities among their work force. Their long term goal are to create awareness, overcome barriers, improve quality of live, and strengthen the institutions that assist the larger network.
The next organization we learned about is the Proyecto Incersion Socio-Laboral de Personas con Discapacidad en la Provincia de Tungurahua (social labor insertion). Important key points for this organization are that people with disabilities can work and participate. The idea being that people with disabilities need to work too! Their goal is to improve capacity and generate income to become a part of society. They hope to place 60 persons in the year 2006. Another goal is to increase awareness and to give people with disabilities skills and abilities.
From the Foundation we traveled on to the Instituto de Educacion Especial. It is a special education school that serves the Ambato area. They have 120 students, 12 teachers, 6 therapists (SLP, OT, PT, Hippotherapy, Psych services). They have existed for 30 years, first as volunteer, then through a foundation and currently as a public institution. The main disability areas they serve are Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation & Down Syndrome. They have 4 categories for education: 0-6 years, primary, productive center and a therapy center.
The last stop for the day was the Center for Independent Living. They serve the adult population. They are currently working on construction of a therapy room, have a sheltered workshop environment for people with disabilities and also run a copy center and internet cafe in the downtown area.
One of the products of the workshop is dog bones. Two people were demonstrating how they rolled up strips of rawhide and cut them for length. The length and overall size had to meet exact standards. The workers were very proficient at this and enjoyed sharing their expertise.
Heather asked if she could make a dogbone and the gentleman was quick to agree and supervise her work. Lots of pressure on Heather as we all watched. It turned out that Heather is an expert dog bone producer! The gentleman was so impressed that he made a special dog bone for her to take home.
