Govt spending Rs200m to upgrade 17 rehab centres

Karachi
A sum of Rs200 million is being spent by the social welfare department only on strengthening 17 rehabilitation centres for disabled people in the province, said Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah on Monday.
He said around 550 disabled children were being rehabilitated at the 17 centres. He said recently the Dar-ul-Amans in Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur had also been upgraded to provide a congenial environment for the distressed women staying there.
Presiding over a meeting to oversee the progress of projects being undertaken by the provincial social welfare department, he also formed a three-member committee, including social welfare secretary Sharik Ahmed and secretary services Mukhtiar Ahmed Soomro, to strengthen the department as soon as possible.
The chief minister remarked that by upgrading centres for rehabilitation and skill development disabled children into resourceful workers. He said children with special needs were the country’s assets and the social welfare department needed to work hard to end the sense of deprivation and enable the children to lead productive lives.
He said the provincial government had reserved two percent job quota in jobs for people with disabilities and also urged the private sector to employ disabled youth.
Advisor to the chief minister on social welfare, Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar, while briefing the meeting said more than 10,000 NGO’s had been registered with the department out of them more than 6,000 were registered at district level while the remaining 4,000 were registered at provincial level.
He said besides operating rehabilitation centres and Dar-ul Amans, his department was also running schools for special children with special needs.
Lanjar said at present more than 30 disabled children were enrolled in each rehabilitation centre.