A DECADE OF BUILDING FREAMS AND
MAKING THEM REAL
Date Posted: Sun. July 12, 2009
LPFI founder Gerard Rikken takes us back to the birth throes of the foundation in his chronology “Looking Back at 10 Amazing Years” in the inside pages. The heart rending account of how it all started is a larger-than-life saga of a personal crusade that has metamorphosed into a most-respected, Caraga-wide and nationally acclaimed non-government organization. We invite you to pour through the article and feel how unselfish loving presence elevated the organization to its shining pedestal as a phenomenal institution of building dreams for special people, and ---making them real.
To the thousands of benefactor all over Caraga region, LPFI has lovingly transformed their wretched worlds into spheres of joy and self confidence. The special children, youth and adults are no longer left alone, suffering in pain and helplessness. LPFI has made sure that they get out of their isolated shells, improve their physical and mental health, dream and toil for success like other mortals do and get into the mainstream without further hesitation. The foundation has learned through the years how to deal with social impediments and cleared the way for the unconditional acceptance of special persons in the community. It has also been blessed with battalions of selfless volunteers in its Community Based Rehabilitation Program – an effective model that has won acclaim in national and international circles.
To complement the resources provided by its international and national Donors, LPFI has succeeded in fusing tremendous government logistics and manpower from the barangays to the municipal, provincial, regional and national levels. It has also tapped the vast reservoir of expertise from beneficent medical practitioners and hospitals. Further boosted by auxiliary funds from charitable institutions, PCSO, Rotary Clubs and caring individuals, the networking collaborations resulted to massive successful surgical operations and sufficient supply of wheelchairs, prosthetics and other auxiliary devices for PWDs.
Founder Gerard’s sleepless nights of intense emotional upheavals ten years ago after the agonizing encounter with a wailing lad locked up in a cage led to a personal crusade to provide special care for special children. With the incredible success of LPFI, his early aspirations have crystallized into a lasting legacy of awesome proportions.
That legacy, for sure, lives on immortally etched in the hearts of rehabilitated special people – for the rest of their lives.
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