Rotary District 7370 Group Study Exchange to the Philippines: PRIME Time in Mandaue

Our day was hosted by RC Mandaue North today, with a first stop at P.R.I.M.E. Center Foundation, Inc. a program that serves children diagnosed with a variety of cognitive, developmental and learning issues (Autism, Dyslexia, ADHD, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, etc). PRIME stands for Pediatric Rehabilitation through Integrated Intensive Interactive program for Multiple Intelligence and Emotion Quotient and is a holistic program developed by Roni Ocubillo, an OT, in 2001. PRIME serves children ages 4-24 years old and currently has 54 children (47 males) in their morning and afternoon sessions. Children progress through different treatment stages based on their skills, including a reverse inclusion program (‘regular’ children are enrolled in these classrooms with the PRIME students), with the goal (for some) of eventually transitioning to a regular school setting. As part of the PRIME program, parents and caregivers (Ya-yas, or nannies, in the Philippines) receive seminar instruction on how to work with children on their skills at home. They are even encouraged to maintain a healthy diet free of sugar and processed foods to aid in optimal development, regular exercise, and reducing TV/computer time to 1 hour a day (though the staff admits this is a challenge to convince families to do). I (Nicole), for one, was thrilled to hear these recommendations as they would be appropriate for any child and family!

PRIME OT Mapeth Masion discussed the program with us and showed us around the facilities, which were bright, cheerful, and clearly full of programming and education. PRIME is a nonprofit organization and parents are only the charged the bare minimum in tuition to support the cost of their child’s involvement (3,500 pesos/month). The rest of the center’s operating budget is funded by groups and NGOs including the Rotary Club. Ms. Masion reports that in addition to being developed based on research reviewed by the founder, the staff of PRIME continues to stay abreast developments in their field by maintaining communication with colleagues in the U.S. Mapeth notes that the greatest difference she sees in the programming here and in the US, is that in the US there is much government support in educating and providing services for exceptional children, whereas here there is none and it is a constant struggle for funds. From our tour of the center, and comparing (informally) the facilities/resources at PRIME to other locations we have visited, PRIME appears to be faring better than others. But once again, it was a wake-up call to how much we in the US have. Yes, there should always be more money funding the education of our children (special needs and regular), but taking a step back and looking around at our neighbors (albeit distant neighbors) shows me that we should be careful not to take what we have for granted. Perhaps we could learn about doing more with less, as these school have so much less here than we do, but manage to make it stretch even farther. Another informative and humbling vocational day.

Listening intently to a description of the program

Mapeth Masion (far left) showing the GSE team and RC Mandaue North around the facilities

Following our trip to PRIME, we visited the jewelry design and wholesale business of a RC member. This thrilled the artist in me, and I think my eyes were as wide as saucers as we were shown around the design showroom. Unfortunately all items in the showroom were one-offs of new designs and not available for us to take home (darn) but we were let loose in the Filipino Hands retails section of the business, which helped make up for having to leave the beautiful new works behind.

After a wonderful lunch hosted by RC Mandaue North at Bigby’s at Ayala Center, it was off to tour the eco-friendly home of PP Nestor Archival. All items in his home are made of recycled and reclaimed materials, he has a purely organic water filtration system for all the water used for non-drinking purposes, raises free range chickens, and even hosts a music school for local children. It was quite an interesting and fun place to wander about, with uniquities around every turn! John has the pleasure of staying with Nestor for this final leg of the journey, and may update with more information about what it means to live this lifestyle (even if just for a few days).