Parents of special children were brought on for My Super Mom and Dad Workshop so that they could share their problems and be empowered, in an initiative taken by Tanzila Khan from the platform of Special Olympics Pakistan (SOP). My Super Mom and Dad aims to build capacity of parents of the disabled children so that in return they can empower their own child through sports and motivate other parents too.
“I was born a disabled person. When I was growing up I realised that there are a lot of platforms to empower disabled people but there was no platform for their parents or their families. And technically families are the main power behind any disabled person,” Tanzila Khan told Pakistan Today while talking about the programme.
“So we really need to find a platform in Pakistan and bring these parents onboard and give them a voice to talk to the government, the corporate sector, academic and the development sector. We need to raise awareness about the issues they face.”
Tanzila said that this is the first platform for the parents of special children.
Around 20 couples, each with a special child, participated in the workshop that comprised activities, discussions and presentations. Couples were encouraged to not only share their difficulties while raising a special child but also to suggest ideas to bring out an improvement. At the end of the event, the parents committed to be ‘super mom and dad’ and to be active citizens to make society more inclusive.
Sabina Rehman, a mother of a special child, came from Gujranwala to attend the workshop.
“I wanted to know what other parents think about their special child. What are their feelings? Because when you haven’t talked to anyone, there is not much that you know. You are just struggling alone. When you see other people with the same problem you understand that you are not alone. There are other people on the same path,” she told Pakistan Today.
Another parent, Dr Salamat likes the initiative but feels that such events should be open to public.
“Actually, in Pakistan I think that special children are mainly ignored or looked down upon. Such events should happen publicly; other members of the society should also be invited to accept special people and treat them as normal. Such events are beneficial. They have a trickledown effect and bring acceptance in society.”
“I will hopefully receive help from this programme on how to go about raising a special child, and to find out what other avenues there are that we can explore. This will help me help my child better.”
SOP Vice Chairman Anisur-Rehman told Pakistan Today about the Special Olympics: “Special Olympics is not just about games. It is something more. We look after the athletes. And at the same time we like to train the parents. If they neglect them then nothing can improve. We advise them to put in a little effort. We have around 15,000 athletes. We can’t cater for everybody. The parents have to do it. So we are trying to teach parents to do something good for these athletes. We also want people to learn and then spread it in their community or schools.”
My Super Mom and Dad project was launched in LA during the Special Olympics in July 2015 where Tanzila was selected to represent Pakistan. Her pitch was ranked among top 5 pitches during the event. The project, which received great encouragement, is now being launched in Pakistan.
“I received a lot of support, even from Hollywood celebrities. I want the same response from my country.”
Although the programme has been currently launched from the platform of SOP which solely caters to the intellectually disabled athletes through sports, Tanzila said that she is looking forward to expanding it. “I am really looking forward to a good response. I’m hoping that people will get in touch with me and come up with better ideas.”
Zoya Ishaq, co-facilitator with Tanzila who also hosted the workshop said, “We have devised a plan through which we are engaging parents in a tactful manner.” She said that they were to add more value to such opportunities for parents.
“There are going to be meetings. We have a lot of doctors onboard. Moreover, we are going to collaborate with other organisations that are affiliated with SOP. Unless parents are not empowered they are not going to come out of their houses. It is very easy to think that there are no opportunities in Pakistan. SOP has opened a lot of opportunities and the basic purpose of this event is to create awareness among people,” she added.
[…] Source link to Read more […]
This is proud moment for the parents to do something good for these athletes. We also want people to learn and then spread it in their community or schools.
Comments are closed.