Hear Us! 350 CO2

HEAR US! : 

HEAR US! School for the Deaf in Iligan City

Slide 2: 

THE JOURNEY OF THE SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF IN ILIGAN started with one woman’s dream. Her name is Charina Haynes, fondly referred to as Chay by her friends. Her passion started when she was teaching at the Deaf Mute school in Camiguin. It was there where she met & fell in love with Mr. Carl Haynes. Her soulmate, the one who shares her passion deeply as he was one of the benefactors of the school in Camiguin.

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After their marriage, the School for the Deaf in Iligan was established. Her dream of putting up her own school for the deaf was realized. It was sustained purely by the couple’s generosity from their personal financial investments abroad. And over the years, the school expanded to around fifty (50) mostly indigent deaf mute students. Some of whom were coming from as far off as the municipalities of Lanao del Norte and from different cultural and religious backgrounds.

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Then in 2007, Mr. Haynes died while on board a plane during one of their family holidays. Their only son, Mark, then 5 years old became Chay’s strongest driving force as she battled to recover from the sudden loss of her husband. As if it wasn’t enough, the recession in the US adversely affected their investments leaving her with nothing to support the school with. She decided to leave the original building that they were renting for the school in Pala-o and built a humble structure in their property in Barangay Lambaguhon. It was where she decided to rebuild their dream together of providing a school for the deaf mute students who cannot afford to go to school.

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In January 3, 2009, the inevitable happened. A waist deep-flood partially destroyed the newly established deaf mute school in Lambaguhon along with all the text books, record books, and other instructional materials. Once again, Chay tried to rebuild the school. With the help of the deaf mute students and the school staff, friends, and neighbors, they tried to fish out the already soaked books out of the water, dried them under the sun and started to hold normal classes again 2 weeks after the devastation.

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But nature had its way far more indomitable than Chay’s spirit. Just a few days after, an even bigger flood hit the same exact area, with unforgiving wrath. In January 14, It literally destroyed EVERYTHING. The flood water was so high it covered the entire roof of the structure. This time, there was nothing left to fish out of the bulging flood waters. The flood literally left nothing to salvage.

It was this misfortune that brought Father Henry Medjo, CSSP, and Chay together. She was introduced to S. Ma. Yolly C. Reyes, RVM, the then president of St. Michael’s College, who generously offered the school’s Mother Ignacia Health Center at the Basic Education Campus as the temporary school for the students at a time when Chay almost lost all hope of re-opening the school. : 

It was this misfortune that brought Father Henry Medjo, CSSP, and Chay together. She was introduced to S. Ma. Yolly C. Reyes, RVM, the then president of St. Michael’s College, who generously offered the school’s Mother Ignacia Health Center at the Basic Education Campus as the temporary school for the students at a time when Chay almost lost all hope of re-opening the school.

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Then the other personalities gathered together in a series of meetings in an effort to help the displaced school. Together with S. Yolly and Fr. Henry were Br. Rafael Reyes, FSC, president of La Salle Academy, Ms. Grace Quijano of KUMON Iligan, Ms. Tiny Buendia, Ms. Jude Salon & Mr. Butch Alcudia, both from St. Michael’s College, George & Vicky Hamoy, Couples for Christ Director Carlos Subang, Dr. Romero Hermosilla, Dr. Ritzcen Durango, S. Ma. Lilibeth Monteclaro, RVM, Engr. Dodong Hamoy, Rolly Cuizon, Rey Roque all from the Local Government Unit and Atty. Franklin M. Quijano.

For about a period of one month, the group was negotiating with the local government for any form of assistance and for potential land for the rebuilding of a new school. And it failed due to existing laws and policies that disallowed the LGU to give lands for projects other than housing and resettlement. They were told in a letter addressed to Chay. : 

For about a period of one month, the group was negotiating with the local government for any form of assistance and for potential land for the rebuilding of a new school. And it failed due to existing laws and policies that disallowed the LGU to give lands for projects other than housing and resettlement. They were told in a letter addressed to Chay.

Slide 22: 

It was in a meeting with the students via the Open Space technology facilitated by Atty. Franklin Quijano and Grace Quijano of KUMON Iligan that the students were most vocal and revealed their heart wrenching stories. “HEAR US!” was their call.

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The first part of the meeting was all about remembering. Remembering all the happy moments in their school. It was when the facilitators and their teachers realized what the school really meant to them. It was at school where they first learned the sign language and the world was opened up to them. Then they learned how to read, they learned math, and science, and they were no longer “ignorant” as they put it. They were no longer “ignored”. And they no longer “lived in silence”. One student said, “I didn’t have to watch television all day anymore as everyone else in my house went about their daily lives oblivious of my presence”.

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The facilitators and teachers fought back their tears as the students went on to recall the gloom memory of the flood. They described Carl and Chay as their parents in their deaf mute world. It seemed that the flood washed away their happy memories of their school - their hopes. The afternoon of the meeting was the dream session. The students were made to talk about what they wanted their dream school to be. And “talk” they did. They wanted a school with a pool (as they themselves are athletes in swimming). They dreamed of a school with computers and culinary classes and Kumon (as some of them are enrolled in Kumon as scholars). They wanted to become teachers in that dream school someday. They wanted a school that won’t ever be flooded again. And they went on and on and on…

The Lambaguhon lot where the school use to be was converted into a rice field tended by Chay and some of the students themselves. They produce 9 (nine) sacks of rice per harvest which they use partially to augment their consumption. : 

The Lambaguhon lot where the school use to be was converted into a rice field tended by Chay and some of the students themselves. They produce 9 (nine) sacks of rice per harvest which they use partially to augment their consumption.

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Sometime during the first week of October, Mark Cervantes, one of the organizers of the International Day for Climate Action in Iligan, was introduced to Grace Quijano by a common friend and they talked about the potential involvement of the students of the School for the deaf in Iligan in the upcoming October 24 event. The duo then went on to give an orientation on climate change to the students. The students listened intently as they learned about the causes and effects of climate change on the environment and how they can start to make a difference by responding to the call of 350.org.

Slide 32: 

A couple of days after, the students had an art workshop with Grace and spent the day of fun printing t-shirts and banners that they will be carrying during the zero emission parade on October 24, 2009 and painted pictures which will be exhibited at the MSU-IIT main library hall. Though the deaf mute can be considered one of the most vulnerable during times of natural disasters, they can also have one of the loudest voices on October 24. This time, their battlecry is “HEAR US! 350 CO2”.

Through the generosity of Br. Rafael Reyes, FSC., President of La Salle Academy, the deaf mute students will start to again temporarily hold classes at the La Salle Academy campus starting the first week of November. : 

Through the generosity of Br. Rafael Reyes, FSC., President of La Salle Academy, the deaf mute students will start to again temporarily hold classes at the La Salle Academy campus starting the first week of November.

In the meanwhile, the group continues to rally for support from socio and civic groups until whenever their dream school can come into fruition. : 

In the meanwhile, the group continues to rally for support from socio and civic groups until whenever their dream school can come into fruition.

Slide 39: 

There is no telling where and how far the journey of the School for the Deaf in Iligan will take them. Armed with nothing but a renewed appreciation of how much everyone should need to take care of what they have, their school, their home, their country, their earth, the deaf mute will continue to inspire everyone and be heard far beyond the hills of Lambaguhon.