Subhead Perkins Intern<strong>at</strong>ional here Córdobaregion, shall act in L<strong>at</strong>in America asthe Feder<strong>at</strong>ion’s Joint Coordin<strong>at</strong>ors(Brazil, Gu<strong>at</strong>emala, Venezuela, andArgentina). Their role shall be toguide and facilit<strong>at</strong>e processes, giveadvice, promote actions, ensureeffective communic<strong>at</strong>ion andinform both Perkins Intern<strong>at</strong>ionaland the Feder<strong>at</strong>ion about theactions taken by each region andcountry. Likewise, each countryshall appoint a represent<strong>at</strong>ivefor a term of 2 years, until thecontinuity of the agreementsmade is assured. Through thistime the represent<strong>at</strong>ives shall beworking on the plan of action th<strong>at</strong>they developed <strong>at</strong> the LA ParentThe Regional Facilit<strong>at</strong>orsMeeting with the local parents <strong>at</strong>their own country with the supportand guide of their facilit<strong>at</strong>or.The group formul<strong>at</strong>ed thefollowing 2010 action plan for thenew feder<strong>at</strong>ion:Rights of Parents of Individualswith <strong>Deafblind</strong>ness and/or withVisual Impairment and AdditionalDisabilitiesBrainstorming by the <strong>at</strong>tendingparents resulted developing thefollowing st<strong>at</strong>ements of rights andpriorities:l We have the right to accessinform<strong>at</strong>ion and be involved inschool collabor<strong>at</strong>ive teams andservices;l We have the right to receivetraining;l We have the right to particip<strong>at</strong>eand make decisions ineduc<strong>at</strong>ional teams;l We have the right to be parentsand not professionals of ourchildren;l We have the right to vac<strong>at</strong>ionsand be happy.Other Meeting DiscussionsDuring the sessions, parents sharedtheir experiences, their dreamsand difficulties. Positive supportfrom each parent became apparenttowards the development of thisnew Feder<strong>at</strong>ion and its action plan.Nº Name Home Country Other Countries represented1 Massiel Denice Requena de Iriarte Venezuela Panama, Ecuador, and Colombia2 Amanda Elena Sinibaldi de Bonillas Gu<strong>at</strong>emala Costa Rica, DominicanRepublic, & Mexic3 Susana María Mana de Araoz Brazil Chile, Peru4 Alicia Rozas Argentina Uruguay, Paraguay, and BoliviaThe Country Represent<strong>at</strong>ivesNº Name Country1 Brígida Belkis Reyes Cabrera Dominican Republic2 Magda Susana Román Colombia3 Rosa Elvira Bernedo Orihuela Peru4 Cuevas Gonzaga Luis Eduardo Ecuador5 P<strong>at</strong>ricio Jorge Castillo Díaz Chile6 Marta Loreto Castillo Chile7 Aidee Flores Rodriguez Bolivia8 Oky María Ul<strong>at</strong>e Chacón Costa Rica9 Desireé Caicedo Panama10 Estela Be<strong>at</strong>riz Gonzales de Sarubbi Paraguay11 María Magdalena Galeano Paraguay12 Schleske Morales maría del Carmen Mexico13 Betina Elizabet Silvera Campelo Uruguay14 María Inés Claudino Gallardo Uruguay8 • DbI Review • Jan u a r y – Ju n e 2011
Perkins Intern<strong>at</strong>ional Subhead Córdoba hereFurthermore, each parent’sstory acknowledged organiz<strong>at</strong>ionslike Perkins for their respect andrecognition and the opportunity tobecome part of a professional team.It became apparent th<strong>at</strong> the useof technological tools for contactpurposes may turn out to be achallenge for some members ofthe new group. Parents may needto be trained and/or upd<strong>at</strong>ed onnew technology. However it mustbe taken into account th<strong>at</strong> accessto technology, and not technologyitself, can be the issue. It is worthhighlighting th<strong>at</strong> ethnical diversitymust be protected in its owncontext, so parents will be requiredto become knowledgeable abouteach country’s legal regul<strong>at</strong>ions.Parents have learned fromexperience th<strong>at</strong> one way of beinghealthy is to be p<strong>at</strong>ient with st<strong>at</strong>ebureaucracy. Government officialsand parents time are not always thesame! So, it might prove beneficialfor some parents to use medi<strong>at</strong>orsto access government officials.The meeting fe<strong>at</strong>ured lunches,tourism and recre<strong>at</strong>ional activitiesthanks to the collabor<strong>at</strong>ion offriends and government authoritieswho made transport<strong>at</strong>ion and theirfriendship available.The Perkins organizers explaineda new joint service project“Transition to Adult Life Program:Independent Living Experiences”which was developed by theUnder-Secretari<strong>at</strong> for Child andYouth Protection (Córdoba),FOAL, Perkins Intern<strong>at</strong>ional, andAsociación Sullai. The leadersof new joint service programemphasized the need to build acollabor<strong>at</strong>ive administr<strong>at</strong>ion; thecombined effort of which shouldencourage each social sector tocomply with its role, this beingthe cornerstone of any sustainabledevelopment. The need to respectthe rights of individuals withdisabilities through the provisionof quality services, was alsostrongly reinforced. Likewise,the importance of getting thefamily involved in work teamswas highlighted as necessary steptowards these changes.At the closing ceremony, StevePerrault kindly addressed theaudience through videoconference.He congr<strong>at</strong>ul<strong>at</strong>ed the participantson their achievements and theirnew challenges ahead.To close, the highly enthusiasticparticipants exchanged gifts alongwith good intentions which, wehope, may soon be accomplished.A special note of thanks wasextended to Perkins Intern<strong>at</strong>ionalfor cre<strong>at</strong>ing the opportunity tobring these L<strong>at</strong>in American parentstogether for a most productivemeeting.VIVA …. VIVA….. LATINOAMÉRICA!!!!!!Report prepared by:María Verónica Cajal,Córdoba, ArgentinaFeder<strong>at</strong>ion’s Proposed Action Plan 2010Objective Activity D<strong>at</strong>eIdentify represent<strong>at</strong>ivefor each country.Call a n<strong>at</strong>ionalmeeting.August 16,2010PersonresponsibleFacilit<strong>at</strong>orAssessmentMake a list of all facilit<strong>at</strong>orsavailable by organiz<strong>at</strong>ion andcountry. Indic<strong>at</strong>e office or rolewithin the organiz<strong>at</strong>ion.Election of newrepresent<strong>at</strong>ives andfacilit<strong>at</strong>orsVotingAugust,2012Facilit<strong>at</strong>orsList new feder<strong>at</strong>ionrepresent<strong>at</strong>ives and facilit<strong>at</strong>orsDetermine the profileand role of eachcountry’s represent<strong>at</strong>ive.Meetings viainternet once aweek.July 15, 2010 Facilit<strong>at</strong>orsMake a written profile ofrepresent<strong>at</strong>ives available tomembers of the Feder<strong>at</strong>ion.Socialize and shareknowledge acquired inparents meetings.Meeting ofparents fromeach country.November15, 2010Facilit<strong>at</strong>ors &represent<strong>at</strong>ives.Reports to be written by arepresent<strong>at</strong>ive to the regionalfacilit<strong>at</strong>or.Inform the progress ofactions taken by eachcountry every 3 months.Make a reportlisting strengths,needs andstr<strong>at</strong>egies toovercomedifficulties.BeginningSeptember,2010PerkinsIntern<strong>at</strong>ional,Áurea Soza andfacilit<strong>at</strong>ors.Prepare reports with d<strong>at</strong>aabout individuals and familiesserved, services provided andprograms, etc.Jan u a r y – Ju n e 2011 • DbI Review • 9