Free speech therapy camp ‘teaches parents to teach the child’
Credit to Author: JAN ARCILLA| Date: Sat, 19 Oct 2019 16:37:37 +0000
Etiqa Philippines, in partnership with the Craniofacial Foundation of the Philippines Inc. (CFFP), on Saturday conducted Operation Smile, a free speech therapy camp for cleft palate patients.
Held at Craniofacial Foundation Center in Sta. Mesa, Manila, the camp aimed to help cleft palate patients to practice speech and pronounce words as they recover from their operation.
Etiqa Executive Vice President Diana Mohamad said the camp was the company’s way of giving back to the community.
“This is for our CSR (corporate social responsibility). This is where we give back to [the] community and we believe that we socially are able to give back whatever we get,” said Mohamad in an interview.
This is Etiqa’s second mission. The first was on October 17, when two cleft patients — six- and seven-month-old infants — were given free cleft lip repair and cleft palate surgeries at the same hospital with the help of volunteer doctors and personnel of CFFP.
“We believe that it is our social and moral duty to act responsibly and contribute to the communities that we belong to. This initiative is aligned with to ‘make the world a
better place’ guided by Etiqa way, where we believe insurance is about helping people and we want to help them to build a better future for themselves and their generations,” said Mohamad.
Etiqa has a built solid reputation for fast, prompt and reliable service supported by over 1,400 hospitals and clinics nationwide, with 25,000 doctors and a 24/7 in-house call center.
A total of 14 children aged 3 to 16 attended the event.
CFFP President and Chief Executive Officer Yolanda Quirino-Abad said both children and parents were taught speech therapy.
“What we do, we empower the parent to be part of the recovery of the child. We teach the parents the drill because at a certain age they already know what are the letters that you have to teach,” said Quirino-Abad.
“We teach the parents to teach the child,” she added.
Quirino-Abad said teaching parents was the best way for Etiqa to help families unable to pay for a speech therapist, especially in the provinces.
“It’s different when it’s a real speech therapist who teaches. But in the provinces, we make the best on what is available,” she added.
Asked how long the therapy was, Quirino-Abad said, “It depends on the progress.”