President Dr. Arif Alvi has said that awareness, training, life skills vital for Person with Disability (PWDs). On Tuesday, he underscored the significance of imparting awareness about special needs of person with different abilities and equipping them with education and living skills for their meaningful integration in the society.
The president was speaking during visit of Society for Children in Need Of Special Assistance (SCINOSA) Day Home- an institute for individuals with Down syndrome and other mental challenges – along with the First Lady Samina Arif Alvi.
The president emphasized that children with different abilities were part of the society and equipping them with living skills could enable them to live their life and perform daily chores by their own.
He also stressed on the need of creating special employment opportunities for differently able persons in accordance with their capabilities and teaching them the specific skills required for those jobs.
Approach towards children with different abilities has been changing across the globe with emphasis on their enrollment in routine schools and we in Pakistan as well need to step forward and work together for breaking the taboos and social stigma attached with mental and physical challenges, he noted.
Federal and Sindh governments has made a laudable progress in the regard by reserving special quota for differently able persons in public sector jobs while banking sector was also inducting special persons, Dr. Alvi observed adding that Governor SBP and heads of different banks also assured of further steps in the regard in a recent meeting on inclusion and empowerment of special persons and women.
The president said that mass awareness play a key role in changing social perceptions and behaviors and that was witnessed during special campaign on breast cancer. He added that awareness initiatives including text and voice messages on symptoms and prevention reached millions of people across the country led to saving hundreds of precious lives.
Dr. Arif Alvi specially mentioned efforts of the First Lady Samina Arif Alvi for raising mass awareness regarding breast cancer and differently able children and said that now she was working on mental health issues.
The president also appreciated SCINOSA for providing special care and training to differently able children and teaching them the basic life skills.
Honorary secretary SCINOSA Zulfiqar Ali Ramzi speaking at the occasion said that realizing the fact that with special care and awareness children with different abilities can live their lives SCINOSA Day Home was imparting all necessary skills to them.
Principal SDH, Rizwana Khanum briefed that major objective of the society was to establish a platform for teaching and training of children with different types of difficulties, to help them become self-sufficient and value-adding members of the society.
Earlier, President Dr. Arif Alvi, visited different parts of the institute to inspect facilities for education and training of differently abled children and interacted with the special students who were busy at work either in learning classes, vocational activities or sports.
President Dr. Arif Alvi, also planted a sapling at SCINOSA Day Home at the occasion.
. On Tuesday, he underscored the significance of imparting awareness about special needs of person with different abilities and equipping them with education and living skills for their meaningful integration in the society.){kind=link}