Helping persons with disabilities find moorings in society

The Network of Organisations Working for Persons with Disabilities-Pakistan (NOWPDP) launched an enterprise development centre for persons with disabilities at a meeting held at a hotel on Friday afternoon.

The meeting began with the welcome address by Omair Ahmed, director, NOWPDP.

He said it was the endeavour of the organisation to help persons with disabilities get fixed up in society and, in case they had difficulty, the organisation helped them get employment.

He said that in this endeavour, Rs1 million had been disbursed to 11 beneficiaries. “And now we are launching the Enterprise Development Centre for the benefit of the disabled.”

This was followed by a short video detailing the activities of the organisation.

Immediately after this, there was a panel discussion, titled, ‘Poverty alleviation through financial inclusion’, moderated by Amin Hashwani, president, NOWPDP, and included Dr Ayesha Khan, CEO, Acumen Pakistan; Ahmed Jalal, CEO, Aman Foundation; Faraz Khan, CEO, Seed Ventures; and Shahjahan Chaudhry, director, National Incubation Centre.

“The disability sector is very difficult to manage because people don’t bother to go out and learn about the affected. We are different because we don’t just identify them but also have solutions,” said Hashwani. “We have to think in terms of the next 10-15 years to produce entrepreneurs in every field,” he said.

Panelist Dr Ayesha Khan said, “We need to support, to mentor, to enable and move that idea forward.”

Panelist Faraz Khan said, “We have to make entrepreneurs in all segments, and highlighted the need for the inclusion of the disabled in all aspects of society.

NOWPDP was set up in 2008 as a disability inclusion initiative. It operates in the spheres of education and economic empowerment of persons with disabilities.

The organisation aims at capacity building at individual, institutional and societal levels. It tackles issues arising from the individuals’ disabilities and also aims to raise awareness about the challenges faced by special persons, advocating their rights.

After the success of the pilot project, the business support programme for persons with disabilites, 16 disabled people got an opportunity to attend self-employment training to expand their knowledge of entrepreneurship.

The ideas covered a wide range of trades and vocations, from home décor to foodstalls and from tailoring to owning a general store. The 16 trainees also received certificates at the launch. The recipients were special persons with most of them being speech-or hearing-impaired.