Japanese aid for differently-abled persons

The government of Japan has extended a grant of $60,975 for providing commuting facilities to the Karachi Vocational Training Centre (KVTC) for the intellectually stymied inmates of the centre.

The agreement to this effect was signed by the Japanese consul-general in town, Toshikazu Isomura, and Dr Akhtar Aziz Khan at the residence of the former on Tuesday afternoon.

“It is a social responsibility to help the disabled,” Isomura said. Paying tribute to the KVTC for the services rendered the unfortunate, he said that it was very difficult for the intellectually impaired to commute by themselves. “As such, we are presenting this bus to the centre with a substantial seating capacity,” he said.

“We have already provided transport aid with a cumulative capacity for 380 since 1989,” he said. He was sure that such projects would further cement the ties between Pakistan and Japan.

Dr Akhtar Aziz Khan said that the lot of the mentally disabled children was really pathetic as except for their parents, even their siblings considered them a burden. They could not in any way contribute to the expenditures incurred by the family. The KVTC, he said, helped such unfortunate people earn a living.

Surgical equipment provided by Japan had helped save so many of these innocent lives, he said and lauded the Japanese help in this regard. He thanked the government and the people of Japan.

He said 500 children who were once “despised” were now earning their living all over the city in various places like fast food joints, shop assistants, petrol pumps, and so on so forth. This, he said, was courtesy the KVTC.

Talking to The News, Khan said that the disabled included all sorts, like victims of autism and the stone deaf. Former senator and KVTC CEO Abdul Haseeb Khan also spoke and lauded the Japanese government for this generosity.