A former seafarer gets a chance to rebuild himself through the Katulong at Gabay sa Manggawang may Kapansanan (KaGabay) Program of the Employees’ Compensation Commission.

William Collado, who worked as a bosun for Cargo Safeway, Inc. for 17 years, met an accident while on board in April 2013, leading to cervical myositis and resulting to his separation from work.

According to the former seafarer, laborious tasks caused him severe body pain. “Hindi ko mapwersa ‘yung katawan ko. Hind ko na rin kaya ang mabigat na trabaho at nangangalay na rin ako kapag matagal na nakatayo,” he shared.
After the accident, Collado underwent a series of physical therapy sessions to abate the pain and strains caused by his cervical myositis. Still, his disability prevents him from doing laborious and heavy physical work.

Through the ECC-KaGabay Program, he received Php 20,000-worth of livelihood starter kit, composed of twelve 11-kg cylinder dip tubes and four 42.8-cylinder dip tubes, for his LPG gas business on July 3, 2019 at Bagong Silangan, Quezon City.

Collado described the program as a “big help” especially since his children are still in school and he lacks a stable source of income to fully support his kids aged 16, 12, 10, and seven years old.

The Employees’ Compensation Commission, through the KaGabay Program, aims to assist occupationally-disabled workers who lost their jobs due to work-related sickness or injury. The program provides physical or occupational therapy, skills training, and entrepreneurship training.