Anton Ramirez is a young adult with Down syndrome. Anton was hired in December 2016 by Project Inclusion’s newest partner employer, South Star Drug. His mother, Mommy Eloisa, shares how Anton’s employment has already made a large impact on Anton and his family.
Project Inclusion is anchored on the belief that given the right conditions and proper support, Persons with Disability (PWD) can make a unique contribution in the workplace, and the society.
From 2013 to 2016, Project Inclusion has built the system that enabled the employment of 104 PWDs in different employment streams.
One of them is Anton, a young adult with Down syndrome. Anton was hired in December 2016 by Project Inclusion’s newest partner employer, South Star Drug. His mother, Mommy Eloisa, shares how Anton’s employment has already made a large impact on Anton and his family.
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To the management of Southstar Drug, I would like to extend my family's heartfelt gratitude for opening your doors to PWDs as employees.
My son, Anton with Down Syndrome, started last Jan 3 at your Antipolo branch. I never thought that this would be even remotely possible in my lifetime and even pondered on the idea of migrating elsewhere so Anton could get a job.
You don't know how much you have made Anton and our family happy. He is so proud of his work and has been bragging to everyone and even mere acquaintances that he is working now.
At first, I was worried that he might get tired easily or get bored. But he is so enthusiastic. Before, it was so difficult waking him up in the morning. But, now he gets up with just one tap and whisper that it's time for work.
Yesterday, when I picked him up from work there were a lot of customers at the counter. The other staff told him that he can go home already. But he said, "wait Lang!" He made sure that all the customers were attended to before he left. They asked him if he was tired and he said, "Hindi. Balik ako bukas." When he arrived home, his enthusiasm for work wasn't dissipated. He did his chores of setting the table and putting the hangers and laundry clips in its container.
I will not get tired of saying thank you for giving PWDs a job. It's not only the monetary benefit but also the increase in self esteem and self worth that you have given them. Thank you for making them productive citizens of our country.
And, I'm sure that Southstar will also benefit in this endeavor. Your customers will not only double or triple but even multiply ten-fold.
To all my fb family and friends, I encourage you to patronize Southstar Drug and all Robinson partners so they may be able to employ more PWDs in the future.
Cheers and more power to Southstar Drug and to Project Inclusion of Unilab Foundation!
#SouthStarDrug #projectinclusion #unilabfoundation#downsyndromeassociationofthephilippines
- Ma. Eloisa Maxino Ramirez, January 3, 2017