Peshawar - Participatory Rural Development Society (PRDS) under its Multiple Year Resilience Program (MYRP) distributed assistive devices among 600 handicapped and physically impaired male and female students of Peshawar, Nowshera, and Charsadda, enabling these children to get an education without any hindrance.
Assistive devices, including wheelchairs, walking sticks/stands, eyeglasses, and hearing devices, were distributed among the most vulnerable 600 students of government-run schools with the support of international volunteer organization “VSO” and Education Cannot Wait, said a press release issued here on Tuesday. Distribution ceremonies were held at the Government High School Sheikh Abad Peshawar and in schools of Nowshera and Charsadda, where, after proper medical check-up and screening, students were handed these assistive devices.
On the occasion, besides officers of the Elementary & Secondary Education department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including DEOs and DDEOs, provincial head of MYRP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tariq Hayat Yousafzai, teachers, and students were also present. Tariq Hayat told the participants that many special and underprivileged students struggle to get a good education.
Their parents might not have enough money to support these children and provide them with assistive devices to cater to their needs. Thus, many disabled students leave their schools due to certain physical inabilities like weak eyesight, hearing issues, or other major/minor physical disabilities.
He said that wheelchairs and equipment were distributed among 335 female and 269 males physically challenged students to encourage them because they deserve the needful support and attention which will not only enable them to continue their academic activities but also help reduce the effects of social deprivation in them.
He said that access to equitable and quality education is the basic right of every child and hundreds of poor and underprivileged children are benefiting from VSO initiatives. Education officers also appreciated this initiative and expressed hope that PRDS and VSO would extend these initiatives to other districts of the province as well.