Special Children Solar Energy Project

The skills development project for special children at Hospicio de San Jose started as a matching grant project, having served the 56 children born with developmental disorder since RY 2001-2002. The skills development project was a matching grant undertaking with the Rotary Club of Osaka East and the University of the Philippines College of Allied Medical Profession. The role of the UP-College of Allied Medical Profession was to provide the optimal use of the facility of Hospicio de San Jose for the rehabilitation of children with developmental disorder with occupational/physical therapy and speech skills training to develop the mental and physical faculties with skills to prepare them for assimilation into the society.

All through the 15 years, the special children undergo physical / speech / occupational therapy with the help of professional physical / speech / occupational therapist, to help improve the capabilities of children born with the neurodevelopmental disorder. The environment / home life condition provided by Hospicio de San Jose to the special children play an important role in the development of each special child. Recently the dormitories were improved to make the accommodation suitable to the biological need of the special child from donation of generous benefactors.

Services we have offered include direct and indirect intervention in enhancing independence and the ability to provide for personal needs such as eating, moving and communicating. The Rotary Club of Manila has also been active in Socialization Events that help the children learn group activities such as dancing and group physical exercises. We annually have Rotary events such as Summer Picnic, Halloween Party and Christmas Gift Giving.

However, due to climate change, the institution (Hospicio de San Jose), faces a challenge of maintaining the ideal home life and rehabilitation rooms confortable to ensure that these special children are not exposed to heat factors causing stress on the special child. To address this need, upon the request of donor – Rotary Club of Osaka East and throuh a board resolution, the underutilized donation for Concentrated Language Encounter fund was diverted for use for Special Children Project, to install solar energy panel for the dormitories of special children to provide the best physical condition conducive to development for the special children and at the same time, reduce administrative cost on the use of the traditional energy source.

The total cost of the solar panel is Pesos 560,000 or USD 12,000.00. This covers the roof area of the dormitory of the special children. The system will generate 525kWH of electricity in a month. This will greatly help in the operation of a facility for these special children.

Ribbon cutting of the Solar Energy Panel and the renovated playroom of the special children was held last Wednesday August 17, 2016. The renovated playroom is a project undertaken by RID 3810 Word Class Team led by Immediate Past District Governor Obet Pagdanganan, Rotary Club of Manila – Sagip Kabataan Foundation and generous benefactors of Hospicio de San Jose.

The FORMAL TURNOVER of the Solar Energy Panel and Renovated Playroom of Special Children