A leg amputee from Bugasong, Antique was named as Best Individual Volunteer during the 66th anniversary of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Manila.
Kalahi-CIDSS community volunteer Julie Taniongon received the award from DSWD Secretary Judy Taguiwalo during the Panata Ka awarding rites held at the DSWD auditorium last Tuesday.
Julie has proven that despite physical disability, determination and the spirit of volunteerism can bring success to the community.
He also received a similar award from DSWD Regional Director for Western Visayas Rebecca Geamala during the social welfares’ regional celebration Monday.
He was 19, when Julie lost his right leg in a freak accident. He was then helping operate a rice thresher. Perched on a bamboo platform, Julie was tasked to make sure the rice stalks get into the thresher by kicking at the bundles.
Unfortunately, while doing so, he made one misplaced kick. His leg hit the spiked tooth of the cylinder and got crunched.
It hurts a lot when the machine gnawed at his leg, the long journey to the hospital was even grimmer.
Julie lives in Barangay Igsoro, the farthest village in the town of Bugasong, Antique. It is 35 kilometers away from the town proper. Burt there is no road there. Only a mountain trail which no motorized vehicles, not even the habal-habal or single motorcycle transporting passengers, can manage.
The severely injured Julie was carried by his relatives in a hammock. They walked for nearly four hours to reach the town proper. But even then, there was no hospital in town. Julie had to be brought to San Jose, the provincial capital, for treatment.
Fortunately, the doctors were able to save his life. Sadly, they couldn’t save his right leg.
Despite this, the young Julie still managed to meet life’s challenges head-on. He went back to the farm in Brgy. Igsoro to lead what could be called a normal life under such circumstances. He was lucky enough to find a wife who even bore him three children.
Since farming is a seasonal endeavor, Julie also took to other means to earn an income and feed his family. He joined a construction crew and slow acquired some skills and crafts until he became a mason.
Volunteering for Kalahi-CIDSS
Kalahi-CIDSS came to Bugasong town in 2013 in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda. After a series of barangay assemblies discussing their basic infrastructure needs, the Igsoro barangay folks opted for the construction of a day care center which will be funded through a grant from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
Likewise, they were all in unison endorsing Julie to be included in the pool of community volunteers for the project. Not only that, Julie was chosen as the chair of the Project Implementation Team of Kalahi-CIDSS in Barangay Igsoro.
Volunteers, however, don’t get paid. Knowing that Julie has mouths to feed, Barangay Captain Ramson Berdin also pushed for Julie’s inclusion as a paid laborer despite his physical incapability. With the approval of the community, Julie was hired as skilled worker in the day care project.
Because of his dual role as paid laborer and community volunteer, Julie would often spend extends extra hours in the construction site. He would also go house to house to inform the villagers of the schedules of barangay assemblies.
Clearly, going house to house on one leg, is not a walk in the park, as the saying goes. The municipal government tried to itch in with a prosthetic leg for Julie. But he was so uncomfortable using it, it actually affected his mobility. He used a wooden crutch, instead.
Despite difficulties, Julie gave no reason to disappointment his neighbors and their trust in him. He spent more hours at the project than anybody else until it was completed.
Now 37 years old, Taniongon is very proud that a PWD like him became instrumental in the completion of a day care center in the community. #
PHOTO 1: DSWD Secretary Judy Taguiwalo (2nd from left) congratulates Julie Taniongon for his contribution to Kalahi-CIDSS despite his physical disability. Also in photo are Asec Jose Antonio Hernandez and Jessie Taniongon.
PHOTO 2: (from left to right) Capability Building Director Marie Angela S. Gopalan, Undersecretary Mae Fe Ancheta-Templa, Asec Jose Antonio Hernandez, DSWD Secretary Judy Taguiwalo, Julie Taniongon and Jessie Taniongon.