Voice for those unheard

I went to training on Disability, Gender and development in Bangkok on March 8- 21, 2010. The training was held in APCD, I was representing GEMPITA (youth community movement) and also as a sign language interpreter for my friend from SEHJIRA Foundation ( Self help group organization for person with disability). The participants of the training were person with disability and in majority there are women. I have got personal inspiration especially in time management and for not be ignorance to others through that training.

At the training I met a lot of person with disability from Asia pacific countries, I felt inspire when I saw a lot of them have been able to manage their time wisely in their daily life, although they have so many roles in life, which also important to be fulfilled, but for them it doesn’t means that they have to neglected their role in the society. Like many of us, they have to become a good employee, a brilliant student, a caring mother, etc.  They realize these roles, give their best, and still they are trying to give positive contribution to human life. They become an agent of changes and role models in community, as their heritage for better future not only for themselves but others.

Like Indonesian participant, my friend from Indonesia, she has a hearing impairment. She is an employee of an International company in Indonesia, a National Model, a Master candidate, and also a volunteer in organization for person with disability. Like My friend from Malaysia who has a Movement disability (wheelchair user), she is a government employee for department of social welfare, a wonderful and a caring mother for her two incredible children. And like more than one hundred other PWDs, who has incredible role in the society.

Since then I began to ask myself, what have you done so far for others? My Person with disability(PWDs) friends has showing me that even with the barriers that they have to life with everyday, they are still able to make something positive to others. Therefore I decided to spend most of my time trying to fulfilling my dreams and engage in activities that I like. In the weekdays, I work in NGO until 5 pm and then twice a week I attend classes for my master degree. In the weekend, I often spend my time to become a volunteer in self help group organization for person with disability or conducted activity with my youth community movement for poor and undeserved people (like street children, orphan, etc) .

So through experiences being involve in several unique groups activities like: person with disability organization, poor and marginalized people, group of non-heterosexual people, person who lived with HIV/AIDS. I have a mission that I could be a voice for those who oftentimes unheard due to limitation of access to information and opportunity. I have a dream that someday this world could be good enough and fair enough for everybody disregard their disability, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, etc.

But I realize, like mother Theresa said, that I could not do a big thing and I can only do a small thing with a great love. So then I decide to captured all of those moment and write it down, hope that it could be a positive contribution for the better world. And after reading material for week four in the world pulse classroom, I realize that in order to give the best for others, we should be able to give the best for ourselves so i decide to join world pulse. I believe that by becoming world pulse community I could enhance my writing skills, my capacity in human rights and also at the same time having a lot of friends who can inspire me continuously.