PWDs must live life, fight on

For being fully empowered, Maricel Apatan may not be considered a person with a disability or a PWD despite her having lost both hands as a child, a victim of senseless violence in the town of Siay, Zamboanga Sibugay.

"When I was 11 years old, I was going to a well with my uncle to fetch water when four men approached us with a bolo. They hacked and slit my uncle's throat, killing him instantly," Apatan recounted in an interview with Daily Tribune.

"They turned to me, and I begged for my life, but those men were ruthless. I was also hacked several times, and I thought I would die that day," she added.

When she regained consciousness after being left for dead by the attackers, Apatan ran for minutes in the forest, realizing that both her hands were nearly severed from the wrists, barely hanging on flesh and skin.

She was brought by neighbors to the hospital where her hands were amputated. The tragedy did not end there, she continued her tale, as their house was also burned by the minions of an alleged landgrabber who wanted them out of the property.

Her grandmother escaped the attack, but she had no money to pay the huge hospital bill incurred in her operation, Apatan said.

"We didn't know what to do, but our distant relative, Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, heard what happened to us and he was sent by God to help us," she recalled, speaking throughout the interview in Filipino.

Apatan said she adjusted to doing things without her hands, putting together her wrists to hold a pencil or ballpen to continue to learn in a school for handicapped children.

"My life story may have touched people's hearts and they helped me finish a degree in hotel and restaurant management in 2008. I became a full-fledged pastry chef in 2011."

Her first job was as a pastry chef at the Shangri-La EDSA, followed by stints at the Marriot and Sheraton hotels, dream jobs all for culinary graduates.

Presently, Apatan is a pastry chef at Making Memories Inc. Cakes and Flowers. She's also one of the ambassadors of Alagang AKAY, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of PWDs and their respective families.

Alagang AKAY has been making medical technologies accessible to PWDs, tapping community leaders to help identify, screen and prioritize those who would immediately benefit from interventions.

The group has been collaborating with the government and the private sector to provide education, training and work opportunities for PWDs to afford them dignity by being productive.

Dwight Bayona, a leg amputee and multi-sport athlete who wears a mechanical leg, is also an ambassador of the group. He was helping an accident victim on the road when he was also hit by a vehicle, crushing his right leg, he said.

Apatan and Bayona on Sunday helped spread the message of hope of Alagang AKAY during the celebration of International Disability Day in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

With former Laguna lawmaker Sol Aragones, the group distributed 500 wheelchairs and livelihood food carts for PWDs in the province.

Asked what she wanted to relay to fellow PWDs, Apatan urged them to keep on fighting, and not give up on life, even one replete with challenges and hardships.

"Don't lose hope and if there's a golden opportunity, grab it and study hard. Don't let your disability hinder you to achieve your dreams. Be inspired, be strong, productive and offer yourself to God," Apatan said.