A group of persons with disabilities (PWDs) is among those that are benefiting from the staging of this year’s Dinagyang Food Festival.

The Association of Late-Deafened, Deaf, Hard of Hearing for Education Advocacy Research and Support (ADHEARS) with 24 members from Iloilo City, expressed its appreciation to the organizer of the festival for the opportunity to take part in the food fest on January 25 to 27.

The Iloilo Dinagyang Foundation Inc. (IDFI) that handles the festival through its kiosk committee charges P2,500 for booths measuring 2.5×3 meters.

ADHEARS founder Dorothy S. Tarol on Sunday said the food festival gave them an opportunity to provide continuous entrepreneurship opportunities for the deaf.

“We are moving towards an inclusive society that’s why we are trying to have a mixture of different hearing groups. Unlike before we only have one group for culturally deaf but this time we are trying to mingle with the hearing people because their family (deaf members) are hearing people so that is our advocacy,” she said.

According to Tarol, this experience is very inspiring for their members.

Tarol also said that aside from opportunities, this event boosts the confidence and self-esteem of the deaf.

“They can earn a living out of this and they should know how to move on with their lives. They should not be contented with charity. They really have to work on that. There is strength in vulnerability. They have to show their hard work and sacrifice so that they will be able to gain a lot of experiences on how to learn a living,” she added.

Also, Tarol said they have always felt safe in joining the festival, even in the previous years.

They are now on their fifth year of joining the food festival, offering various street foods to their customers. She said they named their kiosk “ADHEARS” after the name of their association.

The committee registered close to 1,000 kiosks for the Dinagyang Food Festival. (Leonora Estanque/PNA)