Local disaster officials, social workers, and persons with disabilities learned basic signing skills in Filipino Sign Language to help them respond to Deaf persons during calamities in a workshop that was led by two groups championing Disability-Inclusive Climate Action from November 18 to 22 in Bohol.

The Oscar M. Lopez Center collaborated with Humanity & Inclusion (HI), an international aid organization working alongside persons with disabilities and vulnerable populations in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict, and disaster. 

Both have been given a grant mobilized through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Funding for Disability-Inclusive Climate Action (DICA). The grant is implemented under the larger project umbrella of the Investing in Sustainability and Partnerships for Inclusive Growth and Regenerative Ecosystems (INSPIRE) project administered by the Gerry Roxas Foundation.

OML Center’s “Climate Resilience of the Deaf: Signs for Inclusive Governance and Development” (Project SIGND) and HI’s “Local Empowerment and Advocacy Disability Inclusive Climate Actions Led by Persons with Disabilities” (LEAD project) are now in their third year of implementation. 

Project SIGND focuses on increasing the climate resilience of the Deaf by making climate discourse more accessible through the development of  climate-related FSL signs; as well as by advocating for policies that respond to the community’s specific needs and circumstances. The LEAD project, meanwhile, revolves around boosting the climate resilience of persons with disabilities in Talibon municipality, Bohol, through the creation of early warning systems that notify them of potential hazards; the conduct of “household preparedness” where families plan what they will do and where they will go once disaster strikes; and the dissemination of Information, Education, and Communication materials which have been developed by persons with disabilities themselves.

During the four-day training on basic signing skills, Project SIGND lead Carolyn Dagani talked about the issues and challenges of the Deaf related to their vulnerability to climate change, while training manager Diana Vizmanos provided an orientation on Deaf Awareness, with an emphasis on the need for the hearing to work with the Deaf instead of for the Deaf, particularly when it comes to policymaking. Vizmanos also debunked Deaf stereotypes and shared terms that expressed respect rather than discrimination towards a community that has their own language and culture.

The bulk of the training was focused on understanding the foundational visual and spatial structure of sign languages and learning basic signing skills, with Project SIGND trainers Vizmanos, Cecile Ruth Arreola, Maria Rowena Rivera, and Sheila De Veas taking the lead. After gaining basic proficiency in visual-gestural communication and signing, participants were able to construct rudimentary sentences about introducing themselves, giving directions to their homes and relevant government offices, and providing information about their family members. 

“Our champions [who are persons with disabilities] were thankful to have that experience. They said they would be able to be somewhat confident during instances where interpretation would be needed. They would also be able to use [what they learned] for themselves, for their communities, and for their barangays,” said HI project manager Gabriel Chee Kee. 

The local disaster officials, social workers, and staff from the Persons with Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) also came out of the training feeling optimistic that they would be able to communicate with their Deaf clients, even if only about basic things like asking for their age, birth date, and address. This training is particularly relevant for a municipality that faces a shortage of FSL interpreters. 

“Everyone was very eager to learn the signs, regardless of whether they had a background on it or whether they came from the community or the government,” said Camille Aguila, a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning officer from INSPIRE. 

Dagani was also amazed at how well the persons with visual impairments were able to learn the signs through their sense of touch, with the trainers holding their hands and helping them form the shapes of the signs. 

“Another good thing was how the trainers were very appreciative and helpful,” Aguila added. “They really encouraged the participants to go for it and sign it however you want to express it. So it became a safe space for everyone to learn about signing.”

She hoped that similar trainings would be conducted by the municipality and more people would attend. This would cultivate an understanding of what Deaf persons go through every day, as well as a desire to work with them to push through barriers that they face. 

The training also had an unintended effect of prompting the hotel that housed the Deaf instructors and one Deaf participant to rethink their facilities in terms of inclusion. 

“I remember Carolyn asking how she would get room service considering she couldn’t use the phone,” said INSPIRE Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning specialist Don Christian Mariano. 

Chee Kee was familiar with such challenges, with one of HI’s projects being the construction of toilets that were inclusive for persons with disabilities. Not only should these be safe and easy to use for persons using wheelchairs, but the training prompted them to consider the installation of lights that would blink and notify Deaf persons during emergencies. 

He also recalled how HI modified its office so that it would be accessible to persons with disabilities. 

“But we haven’t perfected it yet because there are many considerations when you say ‘inclusive’,” he said. 

Nevertheless, he took pride in what they had already been able to achieve, especially keeping in mind the celebration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3. This year’s theme is “Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future”.

“We have coaching sessions and technical support for [our champions] so that when the project ends, kahit sila mismo kaya na nila ‘yung mga sarili nila,” Chee Kee said. “Kaya nilang dalhin ‘yung sarili nila, at kaya nilang dalhin ‘yung kapwa persons with disabilities nila. (They are gaining the ability for self-determination, and they are slowly gaining agency to enable other persons with disabilities.) They now know their rights as persons with disabilities.”

With Chee Kee looking at what comes after the LEAD project ends, INSPIRE communication specialist Johanna Poblete took the time to reflect on how the collaboration between HI and OML Center—what she called “a perfect marriage” of two DICA projects—was a reflection of the values the organizations hold dear. 

“[They’re] moving towards the same thing: communication as the start of making sure that access is available for persons with disabilities. The interesting thing is, OML is very specific. It’s Deaf Inclusive Climate Action, whereas HI is Disability Inclusive Climate Action. So it encompasses the whole diversity of persons with disabilities,” Poblete said. “OML’s expertise [is] in communication, and HI’s expertise [is] in mobilizing LEAD champions from organizations of persons with disabilities during the actual disaster prevention and response.”