Pakistan to begin vocational training for disabled people

From The News in Pakistan:

LAHORE, Pakistan -- Businessmen Association for Rehabilitation of Disabled (LABARD) President Mohammad Pervez Malik has said that the body’s vocational centre in Harbanspura would start imparting training soon.

Addressing members of its governing body here on Monday, he added that the vocational centre was being equipped with most modern machinery to impart free of cost training to the disabled people. He said that LABARD was trying to establish a rehabilitation centre at Jinnah Hospital.

He was optimistic that LABARD efforts would yield positive results. He said that a LABARD Mela, an annual event arranged to provide a get-together opportunity for special people with various types of entertainment, would be held in February.

Furthermore, LABARD President also paid rich tribute to the Punjab government for doing an excellent job for the rehabilitation of the disabled. He said that allocation of funds by the Punjab Chief Minister Mian Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif was a step in right direction.

He said that LABARD would extend its best cooperation to the Punjab government for this noble cause.He said that LABARD has so far arranged jobs for hundreds of disabled people and it was soon coming up with a state-of-the-art training centre in Lahore where the disabled persons would not only be imparted with training in various faculties but arrangements would also be made for their placement in different organisations.

At the LABARD, a number of services including medical assistance, counselling of mentally disabled persons, speech therapy, Qarz-e-Hasana, crutches and tricycles are being provided free of cost. The number of disabled people who got them registered with the LABARD for availing these facilities is now in thousands.

LABARD President said that in the developed world, the disabled people were always given a special treatment. They are provided with every possible facility so that they could use their abilities for the well-being of society and now the situation in Pakistan was also taking a positive turn and a large number of disabled people were running their own businesses with the help of LABARD, he added.

In his address, the LCCI President Mian Muzaffar Ali paid rich tributes to LABARD office-bearers for spending their time and energies for this noble cause. He said that LABARD was a feather in LCCI’s cap and the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry would leave no stone unturned in ensuring proper assistance to the LABARD. He said that all the businessmen should at least accommodate one disabled person in their respective factory or office to curtail the miseries of the society.