Filipino para-athletes receive a Coaster from Toyota

MANILA: One of the board members of the Philippine Paralympic Committee (PPC), Dumapong-Ancheta had no other option than using public transport and pushing her wheelchair to the gym and then back home in her playing days. Things must not have been easy, right?

However, she knocked down all the hurdles which came in her way and clinched the bronze medal at the 2000 Paralympic Games. Today, she works along the coaches and other officials of PPC and helps more Filipino athletes with disabilities in preparing and achieve milestones just like her.

Something that has changed is travelling; it is now much easier for the newer para-athletes to commute. All thanks to Toyota, the Japanese automaker. As a part of the company’s pledge to help Filipino para-athletes, a 29-seater Toyota Coaster was recently handed over to the Philippine Paralympic Committee by Toyota Motor Philippines.

Satoru Suzuki, the TMP President said at the event, “We are proud to be a part of this advocacy because it allows us to help change people’s lives by enabling them to overcome challenges and reach their aspirations”.

The donation of the Coaster comes under the banner of Toyota’s global corporate initiative - Start Your Impossible. It is a programme which promotes inclusivity and sustainability by bringing new opportunities for para-athletes and also helps them in realising their dreams.

Not only the initiative helps para-athletes across the globe but also raises public awareness and appreciation of people with disability. Michael Barredo, PPC’s president said, “Ever since we started, having a bus or van to be used by our officials, coaches, and athletes to move around was one of the top priorities on our "wish list". Toyota's donation of a Coaster will help alleviate one of the most difficult challenges persons with disabilities face day-to-day which is mobility”.

This is not the first time when Toyota Motor Philippines has helped under the Start Your Impossible programme. Ernie Gawilan, who is an Asian Para Games swimming gold medalist, was chosen by TMP to be the primary beneficiaries of last year’s Toyota Classics. Toyota Classics is a benefit concert series that supports and helps Asian charities.

Note that Toyota is also the official worldwide mobility partner of both the International Olympic Committee the International Paralympic Committee. Via the “Start Your Impossible” and these small steps aiming at mobility for all, Toyota wants to encourage members of the community to challenge their limits, celebrate the human spirit, and start their own impossible.

Also Read:- Toyota App will also be available soon in PH