Govt, masses urged to rehabilitate street urchins
December 06, 2006
LAHORE: Provincial Minister for Law and Local Government Muhammad Basharat Raja has called upon the people and the government to fulfill their responsibilities towards destitute and homeless children.
He was addressing a seminar on 'Street Children: Who is Responsible?" arranged by Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman Memorial Society (Jang Group of Newspapers) and Child Protection and Welfare Bureau, Punjab at the Children Library Complex Tuesday.
The Chief Minister had taken an initiative in establishing Child Protection Bureau because these children were neglected by society he said adding that the ignoring of the problem had aggravated the situation.
The minister said the individual, society, parents and state could not solve the problem of street children in isolation, collective and concentrated efforts were required to face the ever increasing menace. The government, he said, took action on any complaint received to provide better living conditions to the street children.
Recalling an incident where a child was abducted from Data Darbar and admitted to a hospital, he said that one kidney of the child was removed in an operation. The matter was being probed by the authorities concerned, but the society at large was responsible for such incident.
The society was in a mess and the role of parents could not be separated from that of state or the society, he said adding that there were laws for every crime, but the real problem was implementation.
In forming the CPWB, the government had revised the previous laws to synchronize them with the new requirements, he said. He urged the people to report anything illegal being committed against children in their surroundings, and added that media should also highlight this social evil. Commenting on the role of NGOs, he regretted that the majority of them limited their activities to get recognition from donor agencies.
Mentioning the recent writ petition on the appointment of advisors in Punjab, he said these advisors also included CPWB Chairperson and the wing could suffer without her presence. He said one should not wait for taking steps towards improvement and achieve envisioned objectives.
He said a perfect start had been made to uproot the social ill and the set goals would be achieved with zeal.
The CPWB Chairperson Dr Faiza Asghar said 17 gangs had been busted which were forcing the children into beggary. Now the children over 10 years of age were being given vocational training along with psychological treatment and health care.
She said that centers for counseling of homeless children, mobile awareness centers, 24-hours help service and child protection committees had also been constituted. As many as 5870 children were rehabilitated during last year, she said.
The UNICEF Punjab Chief Dr Deepak Bhattachariya said ways and means had to be devised to remove social injustices because street children had become a big problem. The strong political will could play a vital role in this regard, he said hoping that this seminar could become a good starting point in this regard.
He urged the participants to commitment towards the cause and stressed that children had the right to better living conditions.
The Chairman of Roshni Homes, Anwar Dar said the government alone could not tackle the problems of street children and the parents and society had to play their role in an effective manner.
The CPWB Director Programmes and Operation, Zubair Shad, Medical Superintendent of Mayo Hospital, Dr Fayyaz Ranjha, Dr Nasir Raza Zaidi of Jinnah Hospital, Badshahi Mosque Khateeb, Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad, representative of judiciary, Ahmad Nawaz Ranjha, Programme Officer UNICEF, Shamshad Hussain Qureshi and Dr Arshad Hamayun also addressed the gathering.
The children from CPWB rehabilitation centers presented a national song and skit. Earlier, a documentary was shown to the participants to sensitize them about the issues.
He was addressing a seminar on 'Street Children: Who is Responsible?" arranged by Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman Memorial Society (Jang Group of Newspapers) and Child Protection and Welfare Bureau, Punjab at the Children Library Complex Tuesday.
The Chief Minister had taken an initiative in establishing Child Protection Bureau because these children were neglected by society he said adding that the ignoring of the problem had aggravated the situation.
The minister said the individual, society, parents and state could not solve the problem of street children in isolation, collective and concentrated efforts were required to face the ever increasing menace. The government, he said, took action on any complaint received to provide better living conditions to the street children.
Recalling an incident where a child was abducted from Data Darbar and admitted to a hospital, he said that one kidney of the child was removed in an operation. The matter was being probed by the authorities concerned, but the society at large was responsible for such incident.
The society was in a mess and the role of parents could not be separated from that of state or the society, he said adding that there were laws for every crime, but the real problem was implementation.
In forming the CPWB, the government had revised the previous laws to synchronize them with the new requirements, he said. He urged the people to report anything illegal being committed against children in their surroundings, and added that media should also highlight this social evil. Commenting on the role of NGOs, he regretted that the majority of them limited their activities to get recognition from donor agencies.
Mentioning the recent writ petition on the appointment of advisors in Punjab, he said these advisors also included CPWB Chairperson and the wing could suffer without her presence. He said one should not wait for taking steps towards improvement and achieve envisioned objectives.
He said a perfect start had been made to uproot the social ill and the set goals would be achieved with zeal.
The CPWB Chairperson Dr Faiza Asghar said 17 gangs had been busted which were forcing the children into beggary. Now the children over 10 years of age were being given vocational training along with psychological treatment and health care.
She said that centers for counseling of homeless children, mobile awareness centers, 24-hours help service and child protection committees had also been constituted. As many as 5870 children were rehabilitated during last year, she said.
The UNICEF Punjab Chief Dr Deepak Bhattachariya said ways and means had to be devised to remove social injustices because street children had become a big problem. The strong political will could play a vital role in this regard, he said hoping that this seminar could become a good starting point in this regard.
He urged the participants to commitment towards the cause and stressed that children had the right to better living conditions.
The Chairman of Roshni Homes, Anwar Dar said the government alone could not tackle the problems of street children and the parents and society had to play their role in an effective manner.
The CPWB Director Programmes and Operation, Zubair Shad, Medical Superintendent of Mayo Hospital, Dr Fayyaz Ranjha, Dr Nasir Raza Zaidi of Jinnah Hospital, Badshahi Mosque Khateeb, Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad, representative of judiciary, Ahmad Nawaz Ranjha, Programme Officer UNICEF, Shamshad Hussain Qureshi and Dr Arshad Hamayun also addressed the gathering.
The children from CPWB rehabilitation centers presented a national song and skit. Earlier, a documentary was shown to the participants to sensitize them about the issues.
