Helping Families See Possibilities Beyond Disability
A new Rotary year begins with a promise to nurture potential, strengthen families, and create opportunities for young people with special needs.
“What will happen to my child when I’m no longer around?”
For many parents of children with special needs, this question never truly goes away. While years are spent supporting therapies, education, and daily care, the transition from school to adulthood often brings uncertainty. Will their child be able to work? Can they become more independent? Will society recognize their abilities instead of their disabilities?
The Rotary Club of Cagayan de Oro East Urban (RCEU), led by RY 2026-2027 President, Karina Mae Olavides, believes every young person deserves the opportunity to answer those questions with hope.
As part of Rotary International District 3870’s district-wide Kick-Off Project, RCEU is proud to launch TARIPATO: Pusong Yumayakap, Kamay na Gumagabay, an initiative dedicated to supporting children, teenagers, and young adults with special needs while empowering the parents and caregivers who stand beside them every day. This project is chaired and spearheaded by VP Jean Suzette Macapayag.
The word Taripato comes from the Ilocano language and means to care, nurture, safeguard, and lovingly guide. It reflects the heart of this project, providing support that goes beyond a single event and helping families prepare for a future filled with greater confidence, independence, and opportunity.
Preparing for Life Beyond the Classroom
Many educational programs provide valuable support during childhood, but families often face a new challenge when students approach adulthood. For many individuals with developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disabilities, and other special needs, the pathway from school to meaningful employment remains unclear.
To address this gap, RCEU will conduct a Parent Empowerment Seminar and Pre-Vocational Assessment for Teens and Young Adults with Special Needs on July 4, 2026, at Capitol University.
The project brings together licensed occupational therapists, educators, Rotarians, volunteers, and community partners to help families navigate one of the most important stages of their journey.
Parents and caregivers will participate in an interactive seminar focused on developing vocational skills, independent living abilities, and practical strategies they can continue at home. At the same time, selected teenagers and young adults with special needs will undergo individualized pre-vocational assessments designed to identify their strengths, functional abilities, work readiness, and areas for future development.
Rather than asking what these young people cannot do, the assessment focuses on discovering what they can do, and how those strengths can become opportunities for greater independence and community participation.
Supporting Families Through Knowledge and Hope
Caring for a child with special needs requires patience, resilience, and unwavering love. Yet many parents carry the responsibility with limited access to guidance about what comes after graduation.
Through TARIPATO, families will receive professional recommendations, practical take-home strategies, and personalized insights that can guide future therapy, vocational training, workplace exposure, and life skills development.
The project also aims to strengthen collaboration among parents, schools, healthcare professionals, and the wider community, creating a support network that continues long after the seminar concludes.
Creating Lasting Impact
TARIPATO is more than RCEU’s first project of the Rotary Year 2026-2027. It represents our commitment to creating lasting impact where it matters most, by investing in people, strengthening families, and building communities that embrace disability inclusion.
Every child deserves to be recognized for their abilities.
Every parent deserves to know they are not alone.
Every young adult deserves the opportunity to learn, work, contribute, and live with dignity.
That is the future RCEU hopes to help build, one family, one opportunity, and one life at a time.
If you would like to support this initiative through sponsorship, partnership, volunteerism, or in-kind donations, we invite you to connect with the Rotary Club of Cagayan de Oro East Urban. Together, we can create more opportunities for children and young adults with special needs to reach their fullest potential.
