Pinay armless pilot rallies typhoon victims

MANILA, Philippines - The Filipina who holds the Guinness World Record for being the first armless person in aviation history to earn a pilot’s certificate said the same resilience and strength which she is fortunate to have from her Filipino roots will help Typhoon Yolanda victims, particularly those who lost arms or legs as a result of their injuries, get through the challenges that lie ahead.

Filipino-American pilot and motivational speaker Jessica Cox sent her condolences for all the typhoon victims, who include some of her own family.

Cox’s mother is from Guiuan, Eastern Samar, where Super Typhoon Yolanda first made landfall on Nov. 8. One of her grand-aunts was among the more than 5,000 people who lost their lives during the typhoon that also displaced some other family members.

Cox said she last saw her relatives in Samar when she and her husband Patrick visited in February.

“We visited Samar before and it was gorgeous,” said Cox, showing Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Cuisia Jr. a photo she and her husband took on their last trip to the Philippines.

She believes her fellow Filipinos can transcend challenges brought about by Typhoon Yolanda.

“Sending our condolences for all the victims which include some of my own family. I know the same resilience and strength, which I am fortunate to have from my Filipino roots, will help get them through the challenges that lie ahead,” Cox wrote in the Book of Condolences for those who lost their lives in Typhoon Yolanda.

Cuisia said typhoon victims in the Philippines, particularly those who lost arms or legs as a result of their injuries, should draw strength and inspiration from Cox.

“Jessica has risen from adversity and can definitely inspire our people, especially those who are experiencing adversity as a result of the devastation wrought by Typhoon Haiyan in the Central Philippines,” Cuisia said after Cox offered to help typhoon victims during a recent visit to the Philippine embassy in Washington.

Cuisia said typhoon victims, especially those who had to undergo amputations, should look up to Cox.

“Although she was born without arms, Jessica never allowed her condition to limit her – she attained a college degree in Psychology, earned a black belt in taekwondo and learned to drive with her feet, play the piano with her toes and fly an airplane,” he said.

The Arizona-based Cox, who was in Washington to attend a Senate committee hearing on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, has delivered numerous inspirational speeches around the world and is an advocate for rights of persons with disabilities.

Cox has been working with Handicap International, a non-government organization that supports people with disabilities and vulnerable populations, which has been present in the Philippines since 1985. The organization, which was a co-winner of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for its successful campaign to ban anti-personnel mines, has been doing relief work in typhoon-affected areas.

Since Typhoon Yolanda, the organization has provided thousands of families with emergency kits and mobility aids. It has also set up a logistics platform to transport and distribute humanitarian aid, particularly to isolated regions, according to Mica Bevington, director of marketing and communications of Handicap International.

Cox and Handicap International are mobilizing support for the typhoon victims through an evening reception to be held on Dec. 3 at the Dupont Room of Living Social in Washington. Cox will be delivering a speech at the event.