The first two days of November, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, mark the special time for Filipinos to spend time with their loved ones who have passed into the Hereafter. People go to visit the graves of their loved ones, to do a little cleaning, and to stand by the graves and keep vigils over them.

On the other side of the world, Mexico has the same tradition, albeit in a more festive way. While there are the usual visiting of graves, keeping vigils, and cleaning the family ofrenda, there are parades, banderitas of papel picado, celebrations, and even graves decorated with marigold petals! That is just a glimpse of Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, for Mexicans do not see death as a sign of mourning but as a part of life; they treat their dead with respect. It is a celebration full of smiles, merrymaking, and close family ties.

Last November 16 - 20, 2018, the Ateneo Special Education Society (SPEED) brought in the smiles, the merrymaking, and the close family ties to the Ateneo community through this year’s SPEED Disability Awareness Week, its flagship project, with the theme of Dia de la Vida, a theme that pays homage to Mexico’s celebration of unity and happiness in line with telling the world that both “normal” and “special” people are part of ONE BIG FAMILY.

Decorated calaveras, guitars, and sombreros gave life to the posters and Facebook DPs that announced the event, while strings of papel picado, all in SPEED’s colors of red, orange, yellow, and green, gave life to each of the booths along LS Promenade. There were also performances by some of the Speple – the organization’s members – as well as musically talented kids from the different areas it serves.

Speaking of the kids, several groups of people with special needs (PWSNs) from different partner areas arrived to the Ateneo to witness the event, and they enjoyed a day full of fun activities and games, as well as interactions with the Speple. With guidance from the Speple and their fellow teacher aids, the PWSNs created their own maracas and paper artworks with vibrant colors. They also played games with the Speple, such as one I would like to call “The Hot Sombrero (El Sombrero Caliente)”. Think of this game as Hot Potato, except that you have to wear the hat for a moment before passing it to the next person. Sometimes, both Speple and area kids shared their love for K-Pop and danced along to songs such as “Bboom Bboom” by MOMOLAND.

At the end of the day, the area kids left the event with smiles wider than ever, for they knew that they were part of a family that keeps on giving to and advocating for the PWSN sector.

To the Ateneo community, SPEED offers them different ways to know the sector and interact with them, two of which were set up during the week.

The first way is through Spectrum, the official store of SPEED. Not only is it decorated festively with streamers of papel picado, but its products speak the advocacy through its decorations, which were made by both Speple and PWSN alike. The booth is laden and lined with caps, T-shirts of different sizes, and little stickers to decorate laptops or notebooks with.

For those who bought from the store, they not only received the product from a happy Speple, but they also received a little card about the artist of the decoration and some information about the organization and the sector. A few others, like this writer who served as a rover, approach professors as well. While some stopped by to check the event out, a few others went the extra mile and bought stickers from the rovers.

The second way is through giant wooden walls displaying the various artworks of the area kids, majority of which are colorful paintings showcasing their artistic talent. Ateneans were also encouraged to write notes of positivity and encouragement for the special kids on the walls.

If Dia de la Vida is a celebration involving the whole family, then nobody gets left behind or forgotten. This year, SPEED has decided to feature the persons with hearing disabilities through its #JustSayHello Speak Out campaign. Everyone who stopped by watched a video that promotes the community’s message that they are just like everyone else, and that people can #JustSayHello to them. They also pledged their support by spreading the campaign online through videos of members signing “#JustSayHello” in several variations of sign language.

Aside from this, the organization held a Signing Exact English workshop within that week. In that workshop, teachers from the Miriam College - Southeast Asian Institute of the Deaf introduced basic Filipino Sign Language to the Speple.

Every year, SPEED’s family grows bigger and bigger. Org members and PSWNs share a life in that. SPEED Disability Awareness Week, its flagship project, serves a threefold purpose: an avenue encouraging Ateneans to interact with the PWSN sector, a testimony to the ever growing family of the organization, and a celebration of life.