Deaf excels in basketball and photography
Emil Zion Punzalan’s success in the field of sports and photography
Sunday, February 10, 2008 05:07:40
Measles caused his deafness
Hardwork and determination is the right formula for success. And this can apply to Emil Zion Punzalan, a Deaf who excel in the field of sports and photography. Born on July 29, 1982, Zion, as he is fondly called, was not born deaf. His parents brought him up as a normal child without a hearing impairment. He became deaf when he was infected with measles at the age of 9 months old. According to his doctor, his inner and middle ear was damaged and his hearing will become lower as he grew up. Being Deaf didn’t discourage this 25 years old young man who believed that his deafness is his strength and a challenge for him to prove his worth and do his best.
A bright student
Zion started to go to school at Life Spring Christian School and Manila High School. Because of his disability, he took up college education at Manila Christian Computer Institute for the Deaf (MCCID) with a degree in Diploma in Business Technology. He graduated Salutatorian in his batch and received awards in Best Computer Assembly and Leadership Awards.
Zion with his mother, Juliene Punzalan ©Withnews
Basketball as his favorite sport
Basketball is Zion’s favorite sport and he idolizes NBA player, Kobe Bryant. His uncle introduced basketball to him when he was 6 years old and developed his skills as he grew up. As a player, Zion plays for MCCID and in Philippine Deaf Basketball League (PDBL), a basketball tournament for the Deaf. “I’m leading the team’s good work to successfully ensure them of winning,” Zion said when asked how he leads his team being the team leader. “I can handle them and explain to them what will happen if we don’t have teamwork,” he added. Zion won numerous Most Valuable Player awards, the highest individual award in basketball, from different tournaments he participated in. He now wishes to play in the upcoming Deaflympics, an Olympic-style tournament for the Deaf, next year. Aside from basketball, he also plays other sports like volleyball and chess.
Photography as his own business
Zion at his business center in Sampaloc. ©Withnews
Zion’s love for photography made him start his own photography business, Foto SesZion Digital Photography. As a photographer, he specializes in taking pictures of special occasions with his mother helping him in communicating with the hearing customers. Before starting in his business, Zion joined different photo contest. He won gold medal in 2005 Regional Skills Competition and matched that feat with a gold medal too at 2005 Philippine National Skills Competition. These two events were organized by Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Abilympics Philippines and Federation of Philippine Photographer Foundation. Aside from photography services, he also specializes in computer creative designs like making ID.
Hardwork equals success
Zion wants to be more successful in life. Being Deaf didn’t discourage him to reach his goals. “I always work hard because I want to be successful,” Zion said. Zion is happily married to Moryen F. Punzalan, who is currently in the USA taking up teaching course. His achievements in these 2 fields are a proof that disability is not a hindrance to success.
Zion with his my wife, Moryen F. Punzalan. ©Withnews
Journalist - Raphael D. Torralba raph_torralba@hotmail.com

Friday, 18 August 2006

Getting to Know Julia

Kitchen Rescue : Getting to know Julia

First posted 10:21pm (Mla time) July 05, 2006

By Reggie Aspiras

Inquirer

Editor's Note: Published on Page C1 of the July 6, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

THIS is all about the glory of the human spirit against all odds.

Julia Barreiro was born Nov. 7, 1984. At three months, her parents, Mau and Jun Barreiro, were told that Julia was severely-to-profoundly deaf on both ears. At two, she was enrolled at the Maria Lena Buhay, a school that had a program called oral-aural, where deaf children are taught to speak. Later, she attended a short program at the John Tracy Clinic in Los Angeles, California.

In 1993, Julia and her family, encouraged by Julia’s improvement during the short stint at the John Tracy Clinic, moved to the US. Julia attended San Marino Elementary School and Brookhurst Jr. High School in California, public schools that offered oral programs for deaf children.

Unusual route

When Julia was 14, she and her parents moved back to the Philippines. She attended the Southeast Asian Institute for the Deaf. After completing high school, Julia would again take an unusual route.

Most of her high school classmates would go on to reputable schools with programs for deaf students. Julia wanted to be a chef. The Center for Culinary Arts never had deaf students before, but Julia’s persistence reigned and CCA eventually not only accepted her, but also made adjustments to accommodate her sign language interpreter in order to assist her in learning. She recently graduated and was even asked to give an impromptu speech, which brought the house down with its sheer emotion.

Julia is a living example of one who was born with less but, with it, made the most. Let’s get to know Julia:

What inspired you to be a pastry chef?

When I was 11 years old, my great-grandmother gave me a toy oven. I went home and my mom taught me how to use it. I started baking mini chocolate cakes using my toy oven. I made nice cakes.

What did you find to be the hardest to overcome?

The first two-day orientation program of CCA. I had to listen, watch the demo, write down notes and make products at the same time. It was very confusing. Before that, I did not have an interpreter, and I had to do all four at the same time.

I wanted to give up but Chef James talked to me and told me never to give up. My parents and my Ate Lyra, too, kept telling me, “Don’t give up!”

Until Level 2 [I had] no interpreter. Nutrition and Business Marketing were hard and confusing. My dad and mom got me this recorder so I could record all my lessons. When I got home, mom and dad would listen to the tape and type. Sometimes it took six hours. I’d rest and then we would study until 3 a.m. I was always tired and wanted to give up. Mom and Dad were also tired listening to all my lesson tapes but they never told me that. So, I prayed to Mama Mary and my Lolo to make me strong.

What was the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge was talking with my classmates and chef instructors.

At first, I was shy to talk to them because I knew they would not understand me and maybe they would leave me and just stop talking to me.

But I am happy that my classmates liked me. They always took care of me. They would stay after school and explain to me. Some classmates and some chefs even learned sign language so they could talk to me. Chef James always hugged me and told me that I was good.

And then my interpreters, Teacher Baby, Teacher May and Teacher Amy, always told me that everything would be okay. They were always there for me.

The biggest obstacle?

It is hard because people talk in Tagalog. I know maybe 10 words. People would talk and laugh and I wouldn’t understand their jokes. I also wanted to know what was so funny.

What do you plan to do now that you have graduated?

I’d like to work first so I can learn about business. Then maybe open a small business with my classmates and my best friend, Mika. She is good in math and she will take care of that. I will just bake and bake. Then maybe open another business in the US with my Ate Lyra or in Europe. Maybe a small café in Paris!

Do you see yourself pursuing baking?

Yes. But I also see myself doing other things. I think I will succeed in other things, too, because my parents and sister always say that I should believe in myself.

I am thankful to those who have been good to me. Especially my dad, mom and Ate Lyra—they have sacrificed so much for me. Even the move to the USA was for me because they wanted me to go to a good school. I want to be like my Ate Lyra. She is good. I had difficult times but I had good teachers and friends at CCA. Mommy Carol, Liz, Caroline, Elaine, Myra, Jason, Eric, Mimi, Amy and Marivi were my friends. And God, He always takes care of me!

My parents and Ate Lyra always tell me I don’t have to be rich to be successful. Success is when you are able to be yourself, trying your best and being happy.

To you, dear Julia, for the inspiration your person brings, thank you. God bless you, may His angels carry you to the path of your dreams, and may each of your dreams come true!

E-mail the author at raspiras@inquirer.com.ph

Last Updated ( Monday, 28 August 2006 )

Monday, 28 August 2006

Success without a sound

Success without a sound

By Joy Rojas

Inquirer News Service

IF IT'S true that our senses become sharper in order to make up for a missing one, then Lovella Catalan's deafness explains why she's blessed with a powerful "sight, mind and heart," she declares and repeatedly strikes her right fist across her chest for emphasis. "That's an idiomatic expression, I see my students do that a lot," says Catalan's interpreter, Veronica Templo, Academic Services Coordinator for De La Salle University-College of St. Benilde's School of Deaf Education & Applied Studies (CSB SDEAS). "I think it means, 'Sige, go! Go!'"

Indeed, nothing, not even her inability to hear since birth (her mother contracted German measles when she was pregnant with her youngest of six children) has stopped Catalan from experiencing life the way most 27-year-olds do. She drives her own car, watches movies ("Matrix Reloaded" being her latest), eats out at California Pizza Kitchen and Fridays, and enjoys music-the feel of it, that is. "Actually, deaf people like going to band performances for the beats," informs Catalan. "Through the vibrations from the speakers, we can tell if it's a happy song or a sad one." Incidentally, the Steve Perry classic "Foolish Heart" is her favorite song even though she's never heard it before. "I like it for the lyrics," she says. Of romance, the currently unattached Catalan may be loveless at the moment, but she certainly isn't unloved. "Maybe they're the ones who are interested," she grins sheepishly of the male friends she hangs around with. "But I'm not. So let them wait!"

Those who know her, however, will tell you that sports is her first true love. Taking after her athletically-inclined mother, uncle and grandfather, Catalan learned tennis as a child and played with the juniors of the Philippine Team for eight years. In her teens, she competed locally and in international tournaments in Hong Kong and China. Bowling, another sport she took up in her youth, garnered her victories in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore competitions. "No limitations," says the sole deaf player on CSB's varsity basketball, volleyball and bowling teams, when asked if her inability to hear affects her athletic performance in any way. "They teach us in an equal manner and our bodies are all the same." Talk about teamwork: although Catalan can lip-read, many of her teammates are proficient in finger spelling and a coach either uses gestures or asks a player to interpret his instructions.

Admittedly, communicating can be a bummer on occasion; if there was one sound she would truly like to hear, she says, it's people's conversations, as she can only sit, watch and lip-read whenever her teammates chat animatedly in front of her. Still, Catalan, whose social circle revolves around a healthy group of hearing and deaf friends, is "not shy to mix with the hearing.

Why should I be afraid?"

Credit that bold attitude to school. Founded in 1991, CSB's SDEAS has evolved from offering courses that train students to become future teachers for the deaf, to providing relevant and multifaceted degree programs in Multimedia Arts and Business Entrepreneurship. (Catalan, who entered CSB because of its solid sports program and to be near her brother who is enrolled at DLSU, finished a Certificate in Accounting and is currently an irregular third year student in Entrepreneurship).

Employability in the mainstream, hearing work place is the ultimate goal of the courses and a challenge for CSB SDEAS Career Education & Placement Coordinator Eric Soriano. "In the past, we focused on their education without thinking where our deaf students will go after graduation. Now we realize it's one thing to find work for them and it's another thing for them to stay." Not surprisingly, communicating with the deaf is a major issue among employers, so Soriano (who is initially tapping foundations to consider SDEAS graduates for on-the-job training and possible employment) is on top of an information seminar that will teach the hearing everything they need to know about the deaf, including how to "talk" to them. "With the advent of technology, you have chatting and e-mail," he says. "There's still a lot of misconceptions that need to be corrected."

CSB students are slowly correcting theirs. Although SDEAS classes are conducted separately, its students are encouraged to interact with hearing Benildeans as early as their freshman year when they're made to mingle with fellow incoming students in the Freshman Orientation Program. And thanks to an ongoing awareness campaign, many of the school's organizations and clubs have begun to accept deaf members into their fold. A deaf student sits on the campus' Commission on Elections, and last year, a team of deaf hoopsters impressed hearing counterparts in an interschool basketball tournament. "That's what I always tell the school's student leaders," says Templo. "If you give the deaf opportunities, they can be very productive and industrious."

Catalan, for one, should not disappoint. After graduation, her plans are to become a teacher for the deaf, either in business or in sports. "Of course, if I have the opportunity to make the SEA Games or the Olympics, why not?" she signs with a giggle. "I'm training myself, trying to gain the confidence and the commitment." Whether she chooses to coach a young athlete or compete in a sport herself, she'll definitely feel the applause.

Last Updated ( Monday, 18 September 2006 )

Tuesday, 21 November 2006

Basketball Legend Guillermo S. Raymundo

Written by:

MARJORIE JIMENEZ-BUNYI

Director

Philippine Deaf Life and Sports Club, Inc. (PDLSC)

REMEMBERING the late PhilDeaf Basketball Legend Guillermo S. Raymundo.

He was not big in stature, standing only at 5’7’’ but distinguished himself as one of the country’s finest basketball players, even earning the accolade as Most Valuable Player (MVP) during his career.

Born on July 18, 1956 in Canlubang, Laguna, my uncle lived with us at San Rafael St., Mandaluyong City and I remember him fondly as he used to bring me to school and fetch me afterwards.

At 21 years of age, my uncle was an active member of the Phildeaf Basketball team under coach and trainer Romy Sotto. They played in a number of tournaments both here and abroad, including participation in a Singapore hoop tournament on December 1977 where they played against much taller players. Many of the foreign teams that participated had players taller than 6’5” while the tallest in the Phildeaf squad stood only at 6’2” and majority ranged between 5’7” to 5’11” in height.

It was a big achievement that the Phildeaf team with my uncle as one of their star players emerged champion of the Singapore tournament and took home the gold medal.

In recognition of their achievement, the late strongman and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos commended them for a job well done and supported the Phildeaf basketball team.

Team manager and owner Pablo Mariano, former President of the Philippine Association for the Deaf (PAD) School continued his support of the team and encouraged young deaf students to hone their talents in basketball at the school’s basketball court located at the former Dao Street (presently named as Heart Sacred Street) in Makati.

My uncle was hired by Mr. Mariano to work at the PAD office as bookkeeper and coach of the school’s basketball team. Through his efforts, PAD was successful in organizing a basketball tournament for the deaf during PAD’s foundation day participated in by various deaf schools including the LCCD team (Laguna), the Philippine School for the Deaf (PSD), Southeast Asian Institute for the Deaf (SAID), Manila High School for the Deaf (MHS).

On July 21, 2001, my uncle passed away at the age of 45 due to complication from appendectomy operation.

I am thanking the PDLSC Board of Trustees, led by its Chairman for organizing the First Deaf Men’s Basketball Tournament in honor of my uncle on November 29 thru December 29 at the Vergara Basketball Court in Mandaluyong City, with the support of Barangay Vergara Chairwoman Ligaya de la Cruz.

I am confident that this tournament will serve as an inspiration to the local deaf community.

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 November 2006 )