Lobregat assures support to the visually impaired
Mayor Celso Lobregat has assured that the city government under his administration will continue to support the vision impaired sector in Zamboanga with the opening yesterday of the VISTA Massage Therapy Clinic along Gen. Vicente Alvarez St. (beside that DSWD Field Office 9).
VISTA stands for Vision Impaired Society Towards Advancement, which was founded in 2005 through the initiative of its founding president Teddy Kahil. It has been accredited by the Sangguniang Panlungsod and was endorsed by City Development Council.
“For me, people with disabilities (PWDs) are people with special abilities. They have special abilities and skills to earn a descent living like massage therapy,” Lobregat said, stressing that massage therapy nowadays is more of a necessity than a luxury in life. “Life is so stressful that people need massage therapy. It is people’s need to the advantage of Vista,” he said.
The city government, according to him, is very much concerned with PWDs that they are now recipients of his PhilHealth program and more are awaiting membership. “I see no reason why this facility will not succeed as long as it is properly maintained and kept clean,” he said. “This is teaching people with special abilities how to fend for themselves.
The renovation of Vista Massage Clinic is a joint project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-9), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE-9) and the city government of Zamboanga in line with their mission to provide an establishment for the empowerment of PWDs, particularly the visually-impaired by maximizing their skills in massage.
The DSWD-9 funded the clinic’s renovation for P84,802.06, the DOLE-9 provided the livelihood grant of P101,380.00 for the purchase of fixtures and equipment while the city government provided the technical assistance by conducting seminars for blind masseurs and masseuses and facilitated the documents for the operation of the clinic.
Manned by trained visually-impaired persons, the clinic offers massage services for P250 per client, of which 40% goes to the masseur/masseuse while the 60% will be retained by the center for maintenance and operational expenses. It is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Present during the opening program were DSWD-9 Regional Director Teodulo Romo, Councilor Rudy Lim, Mr. Kahil and other Vista officers, DOLE-9 officials, relatives and friends of vision impaired persons. (Vic Larato)