www.nordis.net
BAGUIO CITY — They belong to different nationalities. They believed fate had brought them together. And despite their physical handicaps love blossomed to establish their family, and together, they vowed to serve fellow persons with disabilities, the poor and needy.
Both persons with disability (PWD) who chose a life to serve others. Mary was afflicted by polio before she reached a year old, while David has been completely blind. Their story may sound like a fairy tale; but it actually is a story of a couple committed and struggling to help the poor and needy especially fellow PWDs in Meghalaya.
During a break at a Bangkok conference for PWDs in the Asia-Pacific region, this writer grabbed the opportunity to interview the couple who came to participate together.
Their story begun when they met in 2010 in Meghalaya province. She was then a working student at the Bethany Society, a private welfare institution taking up social work. David had an internship also in that same institution. Proximity helped and they easily became friends. In 2011, David was employed as an Information Technology (IT) manager in South India. The physical distance did not stop them from keeping in touch and nurture their friendship.
After their wedding they decided to go back to Mary’s village where they established programs on literacy, women’s services, and support services for PWDs. In the literacy program, they gave classes for children in their home and adopted programs that would academically supplement the children’s learning in the local schools. Medical missions were conducted particularly for women. Women in Mary’s tribe, like in many societies today, are discriminated and oppressed because of their gender. This is most traceable to divorce practices and the frequent drinking by men.
“In the early period, we used our own money,” revealed Mary. Their established non-government organization (NGOs) has programs that include building their network, the school programs for children, Montessori school for young kids, and organic farming. They named their NGO Jingkieng Ksiar which literally means Golden Bridge for everyone.
The secret in their philanthropic work is their great love for each other. “It is our love that binds, inspires, and overcome problems we counter in our services,” explained Mary, who came from a poor family of eight children with a father who divorced her mother.
She said that in 2011, her village mates ridiculed her relationship with David, as both are disabled; and that David was white and therefore would be dominating. “We proved them wrong. Our disabilities served as the bond that pushed for our relationship and work to continue. We understand each other as both of us suffer from disabilities,” she added.
Aside from our commitment for social services, David is a good husband. Despite being blind, he helps in household chores, like cooking and washing, among others, added Mary.
They are not taking any chances and are preparing everything for their expected child. They try to save money and even got an educational plan for their child.
In the Bangkok conference, Mary said she gained a higher level of self-confidence and a deeper understanding of the rights and welfare of PWDs, including indigenous persons with disabilities. Inspired by PWDs being organized regionally and worldwide, she readies herself, and her organization – All Meghalaya Association of Person with Disabilities (AMAPD) for greater advocacy.
“It is helpful to meet PWDs in the Asia-Pacific region; we are different people with different experiences but not different from mine or from ours in India,” and she committed for the advocacy of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). # nordis.net
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