13/07/2019
(Written by Bashir Ahmed, Roshni Association, Lahore)
Topic: "Special Persons: Hurdles, Challenges and Way Forward"
Whenever the word ‘special persons’ is used for persons with physically and mentally re****ed, I suspect the word is misused; rather, their maverick expertise predict that they are the very much special persons with unique capabilities as compared to the normal persons. The special persons are also special in their distinctive behavior and artistic excellence.
Though they posses lack of few traits like a normal person does, sometimes they show extra and inimitable qualities: a profound talent in Art and Craft, Sketching, handwriting, and few possess good memory – to mention a few. The success stories of renowned special persons – Stephen Hawking, English Physicist and Cosmologist; Nick Vujicic, Australian motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome (absence of all four limbs); Muniba Mazari, National Ambassador for UN women Pakistan and motivational speaker, and so many others, reveal that these persons can be forged to an asset of a country – rather liability. Despite all these adroitness, they are the most neglected humankind of our society.
Special persons are individuals who suffer as a result of genetic or environmental factors acquired by the inability to learn or acquire the experience, skills and performance of the work done by the normal healthy individual Cultural, economic or social background.
A report of The WHO and the World Bank estimate that one billion people experience some form of disability. In Pakistan, the issue of disability has remained neglected and ignored from all aspects: administrative, social, financial and legal. Furthermore, they are the most marginalized because they are ‘unseen, unheard and uncounted’ in the country. Interestingly, it is being estimated that there are only 531 institutions, in Pakistan, to cater rehabilitative and education needs of about 3.29 million people who are victims of one or other disability. Unfortunately, these institutions are mainly based in urban areas which deprive a great number of special persons in rural areas, KPK,FATA,Gilgit Baltistan, rural Sindh, Southern Punjab, from the services provided at these institutions.
The problems special persons are facing include: lack of updated and reliable data or information, dearth of community based rehabilitation and education programmes, paucity of proper funding mechanism to NGOs, absence of coordination and networking mechanisms between NGOs and government, most of the buildings do not have support facilities such as rails, wheelchairs and lifts to facilitate special persons, scarcity of trained and qualified teachers and social workers, audiologists, speech therapists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists, personality development programmes, illiteracy, decay of health facility centers, and so on.
Notwithstanding all these problems, all is not lost yet. In Lahore, Pakistan, there exist many welfare centers which are working for the well-being of these trivialized chunk of our society, like Roshni Association, Amin Maktab, Rising Star, Fountain House - to name a few.
Among all these, Roshni Association is one of these institutions which is providing living facility, food, rehabilitation programmes, extracurricular activities of sports and exercises for physical fitness, skill development activities, and social therapy programmes to make special persons socially and culturally accepted human being of our country. The devoted, stalwart team of Roshni Association has been working for the welfare of special persons since its inception, 2001. The special persons accommodated in the organization has achieved a number of successes at national and international level, like Gohar Ali won silver medal in 100 meter race in Asia-Pacific Special Olympics 2013, Australia; Nida Bilal won many prizes in Art Competition at National level, etc.
In light of the challenges and problems, it is recommended that the Government of Pakistan must take all possible administrative, legal and resource related measures and make their policies walk the talk, allocation of more resources and funds, increasing educational and rehabilitative institutions, bring national legislation in complete conformity with the existing laws related to special persons. Addressing these hindrances is within our reach. In fact we have a moral duty to remove the bulwarks to participation, and expertise to unlock the umpteen potential of people with special needs.
“Disability need not be an obstacle to success. I have had motor neurone disease for practically all my adult life. Yet it has not prevented me from having a prominent career in astrophysics and a happy family life”, said Stephen Hawking.
(Bashir Ahmed,
Roshni Association, Society for the Welfare of Special Persons, Lahore).
