Disabled millennial accepts call to become a teacher-leader

(This is the third of our four-part series of inspiring stories to mark the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week 2018. – Ed.)

BY MICHAEL ANGELO DEJANDO

FOR PERSONS with disabilities, striving for improvement, carrying out their purpose, serving others, and having personal resilience and faith in God make up the formula for living to reach for the stars and find their niche in the universe.

According to the 2011 World Report on Disability (the most recent by the World Health Organization), more than a billion people are estimated to live with some form of disability, or about 15 percent of the world’s population (based on 2010 global population estimates).

INSPIRE, CONNECT, EMPOWER

Going about daily life is a challenge for this 22-year-old person with disability from Molo district in Iloilo City.

Eleazar Danila would find it odd when street panhandlers treat him as pitiable and more in need of help than they are when he suddenly gets dizzy and suffers from severe headaches as he goes about his daily routine.

When the news that he has epilepsy came to him in high school, his adrenaline-junkie self had mixed emotions of shock and fear, and lots of “what-ifs” entered his mind. At first, he patiently followed his doctor’s advice: taking things slow, resting for a minute, not stressing himself out and taking medications on time.

But while on the coping process, he didn’t settle for less. He didn’t let his disability cage him from doing what he was doing way back when he was at Iloilo City National High School – serving people in various communities as a leader.

Looking back to what had happened to his youthful life until today, his brave decision never failed him. Despite his battle with epilepsy, Eleazar graduated his bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education major in English at WVSU-COE and became a recipient of various awards, such as the WVSU Rotary Award for Most Outstanding Graduate, Most Outstanding University Service Award, CAMELEON Philippines Heroes Award, and Jose Rizal Model Student of the Philippines – all in 2016.

A student leader since his elementary years at Calumpang Elementary School, his project at Bolilao Elementary School called the “Make-A-Splash LiteraSea Program” won during the 2016 Save Philippine Seas Sea Camp organized by the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) and the United States of America Embassy in the Philippines. Last year, he was also hailed as one of the regional awardees of the Search for the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines (TOSP).

Now a licensed professional teacher, Eleazar doesn’t mind talking about his disability because what’s more embarrassing and awkward for him is to have other people feel embarrassed by it than for people to just ask about it.

“If there is one reaction that seriously annoys me, it would be the one I get most often. It’s when people ask me if I am mentally retarded. Perhaps people think this is a ‘safe’ way to talk about my disability, but it drives me nuts. I am not mentally retarded. I just need to relax and not to pressure myself with things! But apparently, asking that question seems like the most natural thing ever to many people,” said Eleazar when asked about his experience.

Despite living with a disability on top of belonging to a broken family, Eleazar shared that he is “more motivated to lead, motivated to learn new things and motivated to love my family, neighbor and myself.”

“I INSPIRE, I CONNECT and I EMPOWER other people. I love knowing other people, I love helping them and I love to inspire them maybe because I am an educator at heart and that is the burning passion that I have in my life,” he added.

Currently teaching English and Research at Saint Vincent Ferrer Seminary, Eleazar continues to believe that education is the “silver bullet to fight poverty” and that his profession provides an opportunity for continual learning and growth.

“One of my hopes as an educator is to instill a love of learning in my students as I share my own passion for learning with them. I feel there is a need for compassionate, strong, and dedicated individuals who are excited about working with children. In our competitive society, it is important for students to not only receive a solid education, but to also work with someone who is aware of and sensitive to their individual needs,” stated Eleazar. (Next: “Bizman is ‘happy, positive’ despite condition”)/PN