A Special Weekend with my Special Buddy

Last July 14 - 16, a camp-out for special people was held at the Boys Scout Camp in Capitol Hills. The three day event was organized by the Best Buddies International Organization, in cooperation with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. The participants were, mainly, mentally challenged individuals, student volunteers from different schools and some members of the community. The Best Buddies Organization exists worldwide but in South-East Asia, there is only one chapter and that is here in Cebu City.

During the affair, student volunteers were paired off with mentally challenged individuals and they were to bond together for the entire weekend. Each day consisted of various activities, games, sharing sessions, talks and even group presentations that promoted goodwill and camaraderie. Participating schools included Cebu Doctor's University, University of San Carlos and Velez College.

The main goal for the camp, according to Best Buddy Jundy Gabutan, was to create awareness among the public about these special individuals in our community. Many of us are not even aware that they exist or have any idea about their situation. The lined up activities were designed to bring the volunteers and their buddies closer together and create a feeling of fulfillment and a sense of belonging for all the participants.

To many of us, friendship is something that we take for granted. But for the mentally challenged going out of their houses to mingle with the general public, it is something that they treasure genuinely. In some cases, these special kids are kept in locked rooms and are not allowed out of the house except for medical maintenance or emergencies.

According to Best Buddies group coordinator Roland Allan Liao, they have a listing of Cebu's mentally challenged individuals ageing from 18 years old and above. Every year, they organize activities such as the camp out to foster good relationships, with each event having a specific goal geared towards their special needs. The core principle of Best Buddies is to assign each special individual to a volunteer; these mentally challenged individuals are dubbed as the buddies. The volunteer's task is to assess the case of their buddy and to figure out the best possible approach to becoming closer to them.

There are many classifications for the mentally challenged. In fact, that term is used as a generally accepted, politically correct term for an individual who has a mental disorder. This is one of the facts Best Buddies would like to make known to the public that each buddy is truly special and interaction can vary from case to case.

The most common is the mentally retarded person who has basically a learning disability. They can only absorb so much information and usually their mental growth is stunted. They can be described sometimes as grown ups with child like abilities. The reason why Best Buddies only accept individuals 18 years old and above is that during this age, they are more controllable and their social skills have had developed, by then.

Second is autism, which can be classified as the opposite of mental retardation in which the person is incredibly intelligent but social and emotional skills vary from very little to non-existent. Other cases include ADHD which stands for Attention Deficit Hyper-activity Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy and Emotionally Disturbed Individuals. Another common disorder is the Down syndrome of which many people know as mongoloids.

There may be other cases of mental disorder but these cases are usually reserved for other more specialized organizations. The afore-mentioned are the usual cases that Best Buddies International deals with, in accordance to standard medical practices and theories. In fact, to become a volunteer, one has to go through three Saturdays of seminar and training in order to qualify for a buddy. Almost all members of the Best Buddies Organization are students or teachers of the SPED program, or Special Education.

The camp-out kicked off on Friday, July 14 with a "letting go" ceremony together with the buddies and their parents or guardians. Being special members of their families, letting them go on trips unattended can be such a worrisome event. The "letting go" ceremony was especially important so as to establish a proper turn over from their parents or guardians to their new buddies.

Highlights of the event included a camp fire on the evening of July 15, Saturday, with a sing and dance presentation from each group. With 100 special buddies, there were 100 volunteers assigned to each of them. There were ten groups consisting of 20 members: 10 buddies and 10 volunteers each.

On Sunday, July 16, there was an outdoor water blast in which the participants were hosed down with a fire truck. It sounds cruel but it was really fun. It's their own version of singing in the rain. This is a manifestation of our child-like love for the rain, a feeling that can only be described and understood by people who actually love playing in the rain. To some unfortunate souls, being out in the rain is no fun at all.

Just like all the other activities, the water blast was met with shouts of joy, contagious laughter. One can't help but notice the air of friendship that hang over the venue as smile after smile after smile was coupled with hugs and cheers for the simple joys that befell their weekend.

For the buddies, it was a time to cherish the warmth and love from another person and a time to discover that life is filled with hope, that despite the adversity that faced them, the world is a beautiful place with beautiful people. For the volunteers, it was a time for new friendships unique and special. It was a chance to give back and share to society the grace and blessing that are given them all these years. But for most, it was simply time spent with their special buddies that make life worth living.

The camp-out ended at 3:00 pm on Sunday, with the volunteers saying farewell to their buddies. Tears were in the eyes of the participants as another successful event by the Best Buddies team ended.

The participants hope that through such activities, the special people in our community may be accepted with open mindedness in the years to come.

To know more about the Best Buddies International Organization and its community outreach programs, log on to www.bestbuddies.org. In Cebu contact Quennie P. Siega, Ph.D, College of Education, University of San Carlos Main Campus.