PWD to open TV repair shop

MANILA, Philippines - “I was 10 years old when I started to walk. My parents had to massage my legs using binisaya (herbal remedy) because we had no money to seek medical treatment. Thank God it worked and I was able to walk, though with a slight limp,” shares Arnel Baldos, after completing a training program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the local government of Leyte to be a Certified TV Technician.

“His slightly delayed mental development is manifested when you talk to him about different topics. His ideas are not that of a 38-year-old but of a 20-year old,” DSWD Region VIII information officer Vina Aquino said. 

Arnel is currently undergoing the Cash for Training Program (C4TP), which provides training and financial assistance to qualified needy youth. Though Arnel is 38, his delayed mental and physical make-up qualified him for the program. His father is a small rice farmer and his mother, a housewife.

In 2009, under the Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities, the DSWD tapped him to participate in activities to promote the welfare of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs).  Arnel became the president of the Municipal Federation of Persons with Disabilities in his locality, and encouraged PWDs to join the association and benefit from privileges like discounts in medicine, groceries and other services.

The turning point for Arnel came this year, when he and 311 other needy youth from Region VIII completed a two-month Consumer Electronic Servicing course under the C4TP. After the course, Arnel and his co-trainees will undergo a two-month on-the-job training, after which they can opt for self-employment or be accessed for job opportunities.

Arnel has chosen to go into self-employment. “I will put up my own little TV repair shop in our town,” he said.

During the closing rites of the two-month course at the TESDA office in Region VIII, Arnel shared his thoughts on the new skills he acquired. In fact, he was one of the outstanding trainees of the C4TP.

For her part, DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman said, “This is the right direction that our young people should take. They should use their time in productive endeavors. The DSWD will continue to tie-up with other government agencies and the private sector to develop similar projects for needy individuals.”

Soliman also recognized Arnel for his determination to overcome his limitations as a PWD: “Arnel has proven that one can indeed break the barrier of any handicap and may succeed in life.”