Rossana Marie Zaragosa, 40, has multiple disabilities (deformed face, speech and hearing defect). She was born in Quezon City and the eldest among the brood of three children.  In her early years, she was enrolled by her family to a speech therapist to help her improve her speech problem. She studied under special education classes and learned basic sign language. Since then, she gradually adjusted from her environment and learned to communicate with other deaf. Her family is very supportive with her goal to finish schooling. Rossana Marie shared that she experienced bullying from co-students and even in her community but it only motivated her to continue her studies, especially because of the strong support of her family. She was able to finish high school and continued her studies at ICCT College Foundation, Inc. where she finished a two (2)-year Diploma Course of Computer Secretariat.  

She tried to apply for work based on her skills but it was hard for her to be employed. Meanwhile, her parents helped her to put up a small business through a sari-sari store. Unfortunately, a point came when she was no longer able to sustain the rent for the store space.

Luckily, one of her friends referred her to NVRC to undergo training. She underwent training along Computer Software course to improve her skills in encoding. She gained knowledge and skills and developed self-confidence through self-interaction and being inspired with different stories of Persons with Disabilities. She became one of the leaders of the Center and helped her co-trainees as an interpreter. She is also active in participating in different activities of the Center which helped her to be mentally and emotionally ready to undergo On-the-Job Training outside the center.

She was referred to one of the partner agencies of NVRC for possible employment. On May 17, 2019, she started her OJT on the said agency and was assigned as a staff courier who submits and collects all the documents and receipts from other companies. She was also assisting some staff in clerical job such as encoding. Because of her dedication, she was absorbed in the company at the end of her three (3)-month training because of her very satisfactory performance.

On July 17, 2019, she officially started to work at Fleetserve Company. She earned around P350.00 a day and her employer also pays for her SSS, Philhealth and Pag-ibig benefits. She expressed her gratitude to NVRC for providing her equal opportunity to work despite of her disabilities. As of now, Rossana is still working at Fleetserve and has shown her dedication and passion, getting her fully absorbed as a regular employee. She wanted to inspire other Persons with Disabilities like her to be self-motivated and to continuously fulfill their dreams for right now, employment opportunities for Persons with Disabilities are very open as a lot of people are becoming more and more inclusive, thanks to DSWD and its partner-agencies. ###

From the reports of: Mark Ram C. Baccay, Social welfare Officer II, NVRC

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