by Gem D. Mañosa (THE EAROBICS TEACHER)
Tomatis Philippines has a very dear dear friend embodied in a jolly, big-hearted and spirited teddy bear of a man. His name is Dr. Francis Xavier Dimalanta, Developmental-and-Behavioral-Pediatrician-eminent of the St. Luke’s hospitals.
I was introduced to Dr. D (as we used to call him) by my friend Ria, when she first consulted him about her son. Soon after that initial meeting, and a couple of long lunches after, a great friendship developed and he easily persuaded me to allow my eldest child–and only daughter–to participate in CISV in India! (Only a man of his exemplary character could convince me and my husband to send our precious darling to such an adventure when she was only 11 years old.) That experience proved to be such a success for my daughter that we also sent our son to a CISV camp in Norway last July.
But what, I feel, truly distinguishes the good doctor is his untiring commitment to two things he loves: (1) special children, and (2) his hometown of Baguio City. Dr. D established A Child’s D.R.E.A.M. Foundation–a facility that provides holistic care for special children in Northern Luzon and the Cordilleras–in the City of Pines where he was born and raised (and where his parents still reside). Dr. D says he founded A Child’s D.R.E.A.M. 9 years ago “to give back to the people of the city I was raised in.”
It is, therefore, a great privilege for Tomatis Philippines to participate in a very unique and noteworthy event helped organized by our good friend Dr. D and the Philippine Pediatric Society–the Total Family Health Care Expo. It will be held this coming week-end, September 1 to 2, at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. The expo will feature a variety of services aimed at helping and guiding parents nurture their children. Several specialized talks about children’s health and well-being will also be given by experts. Some titles that caught my eye: Raising an Early Reader, Yoga: Why it’s Good to Start Young, and Teenage Pregnancy on the Rise. For a complete schedule of the talks, go to our Tomatis Philippines Facebook page. There will be an entrance fee of Php 50.
We hope to see all of you there!
You may RSVP on our comment page.