Seventeen persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Ilocos Norte received early Christmas gifts on Friday, as Governor Cecilia Araneta-Marcos led the distribution of hearing aids to the recipients in celebration of the International Day for Persons with Disabilities.
The hearing aids, amounting to PHP40,000 each, were funded by the Presidential Action Center, according to provincial social welfare officer Rochelle Gajes in an interview.
Aside from the initial 17 recipients, Gajes reported that they are expecting over 30 more recipients in the next batch of distribution.
Before the distribution, hearing-impaired individuals in various parts of the province underwent general hearing tests, voice tests, and ear measurements from professionals pooled together by the product supplier, Audibly Hearing Aid Center.
The hearing apparatus comes with a one-year supply of batteries.
To give the gift of hearing to those in need and empower them, the Ilocos Norte provincial government, through its Provincial Disability Affairs Office, has partnered with the Presidential Action Center to fund the project.
In her short speech, the governor thanked President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for approving the request of PWDs with hearing impairment.
One of the recipients, 71-year-old Marino Guieb, a person with a hearing impairment and artificial legs from this city, also thanked the President and the provincial government for the hearing aid.
“I thank the President for providing us with this hearing gadget. We thank him for this early Christmas gift for indigent PWDs,” she said. (PNA)
