A Worry-free Day and Photo Exhibit for Children with Disabilities.

Let’s get high is the title of the latest activity of advertising photographer John Chua’s band of merry volunteer photographers. PWD stands for “PHOTOGRAPHY WITH A DIFFERENCE”, a brainchild of Chua that uses volunteer photographers to support and promote increased awareness for organization of children with disability. The recent was held inside the exclusive property of the Tagaytay Highlands Golf and Country Club in joint partnership with Tagaytay Highlands, Canon and SM. Twenty children and their families from the Down Syndrome Association of the Philippines (DSAPI) and Parent Advocates of Visually Impaired Children (PAVIC) were treated to a special day under the guidance of Chua’s photographers. Activities for the day included horseback riding, miniature horse grooming, mini golf, fishing, cable car rides and pizza making. Through out the day, officers from Tagaytay Highlands, Canon, and SM participated actively, along with the volunteer photographers, including, Tagaytay Highlands OIC for Spiritual Affairs Henry N. Ocier, SM SVP and chair for Disability Affairs Bien Mateo, and Canon Marketing Head, Margie Escueta.City.

The award was received by Claire T. Kramer, Tagaytay Highlands General Manager and Henry N. Ocier of Belle Corporation during the awarding ceremonies and forum for the ASEAN For more than a year now, Chua’s group of photographers composed of both hobbyists and professionals have dedicated themselves to making a difference for organization of children with disabilities through their photography.” We try and give them a worry-free day so that they can enjoy each other’s company,” says PWD Core Group head Sarita Zafra. “The job of our volunteer photographers is to capture those shared moments in an image with our cameras”. For many of these parents, raising a child with disability is double the effort compared to parents with children without disabilities”, says Anges Lapena, whose son Jeremy has Down Syndrome. Linda Choy, whose daughter Kara is visually impaired, adds: “Not only do we go through the usual process of raising a child, but we also have to look out and deal with the requirements of our child’s special needs.” Photos taken during the “LET’S GET HIGH” event will be exhibited in the Atrium at The Bock in SM North Edsa on Oct.31-Nov.6. A second exhibit will be held at Tagaytay Highlands at a date to be later announced.