Kapampangan gets bronze in international abilympics

By Jovi T. De Leon
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — A 21-year-old Kapampangan Bryan Manalo came home with a bronze medal from the 8th International Abilympics held in Seoul, South Korea.
Boik Hwang, secretary-general of the International Abilympics 2011 organizing committee, referred abilympics as the world’s greatest festival for persons with disabilities (PWDs).
His third place win was duplicated by another Filipino, Emmanuel Tagalicud, from Northern Mindanao, who, like Bryan, is also orthopedically impaired. Tagalicud’s category was on basket making and waste reuse.
Manalo’s medal came from his floral arrangement and waste reuse entry at the competition entered into by 57 countries.
He seems to have been born a natural florist and started floral arrangements for the annual All Saints’ Day.
When he became a clerk at the City Treasurer’s Office in San Fernando, he was sent to trainings before he got into competitions through the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Council on Disability Affairs.
In 2008, he got a gold medal under the same category at the district level of the abilympics, and more gold medals in the regional and national levels.
He was sent to Manila for a one-month training with the support of Mayor Oscar Rodriguez. This paved the way for his inclusion in the 23-man delegation to the International Abilympics in South Korea.
Manalo described his entry in the contest as a hand-tied bridal bouquet of fresh paper roses and a wall décor candle inspired by the world-famous Pampanga Christmas lantern.
The first placer in his category was from South Korea while the second placer was from Thailand.
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2011/10/18/kapampangan-gets-bronze-international-abilympics-185617