LABARD holds mela for special children

LAHORE: Special children are the future of Pakistan and providing them necessary skills would facilitate them in earning livelihood so that instead of being a burden on society they contribute to the economy.
This was the crux of the speeches delivered at the LABARD Mela 2015 for Special Children at the Jilani Park on Thursday. Acting Governor Punjab Rana Muhammad Iqbal was the Chief Guest, and Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Ijaz A Mumtaz as well as Lahore Businessmen Association for the Rehabilitation of Disabled (LABARD) President MNA Pervez Malik spoke on the occasion.
The LABARD Mela for the special children has become an annual cultural event of the city and a large number of people with special needs enjoy it.
As many as more than 5,000 special children belonging to various institutions took part in different activities at the mela. The basic aim of holding this event is to encourage the disabled and enable them to play a positive role in their future life.
Speaking on the occasion, Acting Governor Punjab Rana Muhammad Iqbal said a bright future was the destiny of nations that look after the distressed segments of the society.
Pervaiz Malik revealed that over 10 percent population of all the developing countries consists of disabled persons that need to be taken care of by the rest of the 90 percent in the larger interest of the whole society.
He said there are 200,000 physically challenged people in the suburbs of Lahore that are awaiting assistance from the society to acquire skills and improve their disabilities.
He said LABARD brings all its 500 students in the school through dedicated school vans. “We train them in skill, encourage them to go for higher education and ensure their placement in respectable jobs,” he added.
He said many girls that are severely affected by polio were encouraged to do MBA or even higher education. Their educational expenses and daily transportation arrangement were funded by LABRAD. Today many of them are serving in foreign banks in Pakistan at handsome salaries.