There are few leaders in the Philippines’ deaf community. I volunteer at Cavite Association of the Deaf, I also belong to the PFD’s network. And I had always wanted to establish Deaf Youth. The director of the Philippine Federation of the Deaf encouraged me to fill in the application form and I passed as one of the trainees accepted into the 8th Duskin Leadership Training Program.

I arrived at Kansai International Airport on September 1st, 2006; the first time I traveled alone out of my country. That night I stayed inside the airport and was surprised to see the place so convenient. It is made accessible for disabled people, older people, women and children. I often wonder why I got here; I cannot believe that I really came to Japan as one of the 8th Duskin Leadership trainees. Actually I never thought I would get to Japan. But I passed the application process. At the time I was selected as a trainee, I did not have keen interest in Japan but later on I realized that the technology and knowledge that Japan and Japanese deaf people have, were things I had never even seen or heard of. The people are very generous and have a great sense of humor.

During the first three months, I studied nihongo and Japanese sign language. The nihongo was so difficult and I could not remember every word. I owe special thanks to my two teachers who patiently taught me, as well as the JSL teachers who shared their skills which I admired.

I spent the New Year at the home of Ms Sachiyo Yoshino in Fukuoka with her dad who is also deaf. I was really excited talking to her dad as he felt like a father to me. The weather was pretty cold whenever I watched TV, helped Ms Sachiyo in the house and or slept in bed. She shared her experiences of when she was involved in youth activities. She took me around Saga with her deaf friends and she knew I would love the beach and sea, and the seafood. They took me to restaurants where we ate seafood. On the New Year’s Eve we went to Nagasaki, to visit her relatives from her mother’s side of the family. It was pretty quiet and we ate together with her relatives, the food was so delicious. I love seafood. The next day we met some deaf guys in Nagasaki, had a stroll and took a picture in the memorial place of the World War II. Before I left Fukuoka, they taught me how to make rice cake(kagami-mochi). I won’t forget their humor and shared activities in Fukuoka.

For the last two days of January, we stayed in Niigata to ski, for the first time in my life. I was so very excited when I played in the snow…since I was small, I often watched snow on the TV and now, finally, I touched the snow. I could not image how it would look when the snow was everywhere and I felt strange when I saw the snow fall little by little. The first day, I met a female instructor who taught me the ski steps. I fell many times and it really made my legs sore. It was pretty scary to ski but my trainee mates told me it was so fun so I tried to overcome my fear, get confident and I skied better. I took many pictures. I won’t forget the moment when I saw the snow. It helps me grow close to the environment and I would like to bring my experience to the Philippines who are not aware of the disabled. It was my first time to see that the blind and physically disabled could ski. I will always be grateful to Duskin Aniowa Foundation and JSRPD who supported us, as well as to the ski instructors.

The 40th National Deaf Youth Debates and 3rd Asia/Pacific Deaf Youth Camp were held concurrently in Miyazaki, between November 3 and 5. I had not yet improved my JSL and it was my first time to get on the flight without any assistant. It learned to be independent everywhere I went. I met many different young deaf people and my friends who were from the Philippines also participated in the Asia/Pacific Deaf Youth Camp. I took the volunteer workshop for older people. There were a lot of different workshops and activities. I met Mr. Shimamoto, leader for the Deaf Youth Section of Japan Federation of the Deaf. The staff of the Deaf Youth board sounded serious, responsible for the events. I participated in the workshop which offered Deaf Youth knowledge which was really interesting with different activities for the youth. That is why four of my friends who went back to the Philippines started the established Philippine Federation of the Deaf ( Youth Section ) in May 2007.

I visited different kinds of social welfare systems in Kobe, Awaji, Kyoto and Osaka. There are plenty of accessibility to information, technology and services. It is really easy for older deaf people to get around, they can bring interpreters wherever they need by appointment. Every Saturday and Sunday, Deaf Youth held meetings and planned activities. I watched their lectures, mostly about the budget, membership fees and newspapers they should reading. Mr. Shimamoto told me that most of young deaf people do not wish to obtain the membership of Deaf Youth. Mr. Mitsuji Hisamatsu of the Japan Federation of the Deaf, had told me the same thing on January 9 and 10, when I attended the workshop. I studied the network of JFD’s Board. The leader is ready to work with the deaf community. I am concerned about the Deaf Community in the Philippines because the leaders lacks the confidence to pull everything off. In Japan, I went to different welfare offices where the leaders were also deaf. There are many people supporting information access for the deaf in local communities, and hiring sign language interpreters. In the Philippines, most deaf people cannot afford to pay for the interpreter because of the lack of the government’s awareness. I stayed in Awaji for 2 weeks I researched the lives of older deaf people. The interpreter service helps them live comfortably. The other place I visited was the Nakamano Center where the deaf-blind and deaf and ill people were staying and they were engaged in easy tasks to earn money. I am thinking of deaf people in the Philippines where 94% of them have no jobs, making survival hard. I wanted to help them with their rights so that we could together propose what we need from the Government or companies so that they will realize our needs. The Deaf Youth activities could work with the Philippine Federation of the Deaf and we can do our best for the deaf community in the Philippines. That is what I learned from Japan Federation of the Deaf, through different duties and activities.

At first, I never knew if they would accept who I am. I had not experienced different disabilities. I grew up with the deaf world but now I knew the different worlds and I learnt their cultures. Most of the time, we ate together, went shopping and visited a lot of places. We laughed with joy. First I would like to say that I am grateful to Maruko and Samith who interpreted for me in sign language so that I could always understand what was going on. I felt strong that we had a strong friendship and it felt like a real family, our own sisters and brothers when we played. During the Golden Week of May 1-5, we stayed in Nishinomiya and Hiroshima. I had a wonderful time and won’t forget it. We shared our cooking, washed our clothes. My dear friends, please do not forget the JSL we shared. I will always miss you when we go separate ways, back to our own countries.

I would like to start deaf youth activities that helps us support the information service to the deaf community and raise people’s awareness. What is disappointing is that they have no information and the society is inconvenient. I would like to bring the information that I learnt in Japan to my deaf friends and start new projects with PFD (Philippine Federation of the Deaf) the activities (education, employment, resident living needs and interpreter services) , and do my best even if it gets really hard to survive. I accept it will not be easy, but this is really extremely important. I will do my best for my country.

I am very grateful to those who selected me as one of 8th Duskin Leadership program trainees. By meeting highly knowledgeable and experienced deaf people in Japan, I learnt and absorbed so much. It helps me gain knowledge. First of all, I would like to say thank you to the people of Duskin, Ainowa Foundation and the staff of Japanese Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities. I would also like to say that I am grateful to Ms Nasu who shared with me in so many ways. Sometimes I could not express my intentions very well and caused misunderstandings, but she was patient, so I managed to get through difficult times. Thank you to everyone who taught me and supported my career during the training program. My heart will always remember Japan and the special people I met. May God richly bless you! And Salamat po (Thank you)