Master Po supports children with autism


Master Po, a homegrown Chinese restaurant in uptown Cebu City, has partnered with the Kidz Gym Therapy Center by providing a place that allows children with ASD or Autism Spectrum Disorder to grow and develop.

“I welcome kids from the center to help out Master Po,” said the owner Jan Joan Yu-So.

Joan is the person behind The Ching Palace.

Aside from offering quality Chinese food at more affordable prices, Jan Joan Yu-So said she wants Master Po to be more that a food place.

“Aside from helping our children, we also teach our customers do away with discrimination and biases,” she said.

“No this is not a marketing stunt,” said Jan Joan Yu-So who confided that her eldest son has ASD.

“I felt the pain my son felt from being discriminated. If no one is willing to accept them, I am different,” she said.
  
She said Jinkee Lou Cabahug-Lim of the Kidz Gym Therapy Center, the one near Sacred Heart School - Hijas de Jesus, had a hard time convincing establishments to accept their children as part of their program.

“When I heard about this, I asked Jinkee if Master Po would be okay,” she said.

Quoting Trisha Van Berkel, Joan said, “autistic beings develop and bloom if their spirits, talents and self-esteem are not destroyed by bullies, prejudice, ‘doggie training,’ and being forced to be normal.”

But she clarified Master Po is not a therapy center. It is a new restaurant which offers quality Chinese cuisine The Ching Palace is known for.

Joan has to import The Ching Palace’s chef Marlon A. Pueblos to prove that they are serious with their claim.

“Let’s imagine his father had trained Master Po at The Ching Palace. Master Po is a young panda destined to be great,” she said.


Master Po is located at Unit 9 Plaza Nouvelle, E. Benedicto St, near the Sacred Heart Center. (PR)

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