“Zamong Kor”- the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government project for rehabilitation of the street children at a fully furnished and equipped home – has been opened for the children.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and Chief Minister Pervez Khattak got the modern institute for street children inaugurated by a street child who was admitted to “Zamong Kor” on Friday to mark the Universal Children Day.
The home for the children established in the abandoned 216 flats at Nassapa, Peshawar at a cost of Rs.447 million will accommodate one thousand street children who will be provided with education, health, recreation, sports, boarding, food, career and psychological counselling and other necessary facilities. All expenditures for the facilities will be borne by KP government which will also acquire an additional piece of land measuring 100 kanals for constructing a sports grounds, an auditorium and cricket academy.
The opening ceremony held on this occasion at the Nassap flats was addressed by Imran Khan, Khattak and MPA Mairaj Hamayun Khan.
Speaker of the provincial Assembly Asad Qaiser, Provincial Ministers Muhammad Atif Khan, Shah Farman, Aneesa Zaib Tahirkheli, CM Special Assistants Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani, Dr. Mehar Taj Roghani, MPAs, Chief Secretary Amjad Ali Khan, Additional Chief Dr. Hammad Owais Agha, Secretary Social Welfare and other related officials as well as members of different social welfare NGOs attended the function.
Speaking on the occasion the Khattak said that setting up a home for rehabilitation of street children in a dignified manner was a unique project of the provincial government which will not only provide them safe, respectable and comfortable shelter but will also make available educational, health, recreational, sports as well as psychological and career counselling facilities and services. These facilities, he added, will help them become responsible and valued citizens.
Lauding the efforts of the provincial government’s team for achieving the goal of “Zamong Kor” in a very short span of time, Khattak said that the project would be managed under an independent Board of Governors. He said that following the vision of the PTI, the KP government was fully committed to invest in youth especially children of the province and to achieve this objective all necessary resources and opportunities would be provided to them. He said that intensified efforts were underway to get all children into the schools while polio eradication campaign was also in full swing to save the children from the physical disabilities. He further stated that establishment of “Zamong Kor” project was basically aimed at creation of a child sensitive society wherein children should enjoy their rights of survival, protection, development and social participation without any discrimination and deprivation.
The CM declared that the children to be groomed at “Zamong Kor” under the guardianship of provincial government would be called as “State Children” instead of “street children”. He told that a required piece of land had also been provided for SOS children village, school and a youth home at Hayatabad, Peshawar while a welfare package will also be launched very soon for children in prisons.
