Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said that ratio of those involved in charity and welfare work was very high in Pakistan compared to other countries of the world, but unfortunately, Pakistan’s governments do not support such activities in the country.
He expressed these views while inaugurating the new building of the Rising Sun Institute for Special Children, Abdul Rahim Khan Campus here in Lahore on Saturday.
The Rising Sun Institute for Special Children is the project of the Rising Sun Education and Welfare Society that has been serving special children for the last 32 years. Originally set up in a rented house in Lahore, the charity organisation now caters to more than 650 special children in collaboration with the Abdul Aleem Khan Foundation.
Lauding the services of the charity organisation, PTI Chief Imran Khan said that the organisation was working for a noble cause as teaching special children was more difficult than imparting normal education. “There are two types of people in the world; the first type consists of materialistic people who come into the world just for the sake of earning money and giving birth to their children. They do not feel any of humanity’s pain. The second type of people believes in a spiritual form of existence and they leave behind a rich legacy through their charity work. These are remembered even after their death,” he said.
He further said that Pakistan could not be called an Islamic welfare state as envisioned by the country’s founders, as more than 25 million children were out of school and 45 percent of the country’s children were stunted. Imran Khan was of the view that it is the need of the hour to establish more institutions like the Rising Sun Institute and he was confident that such models will definitely be replicated in the future just as the model of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital had been replicated by Shahid Afridi and Abrar ul Haq to establish trust hospitals.
“The governments must take responsibility for initiating such projects as the provincial government has done in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) by establishing the first ever education centre for street children,” he said.
Rana Rashid Ali, whose 7-year-old son Soban Ali struggles with a genetic disorder known as Down’s Syndrome, told Pakistan Today that his son’s condition had shown remarkable improvement after joining the institute. “My son has different activity sessions at this institution, including speech and physical therapy, and my family is very satisfied with his progress,” he said.
A group of special children enthralled the audience by performing a tableau representing the cultures of all provinces of Pakistan.
In his address, former governor of Punjab and chairman of the patrons’ committee of the organisation, Lt Gen (r) Khalid Maqbool said that he hoped to see the institution become a university for special children in future.
PTI leader Abdul Aleem Khan and Rising Sun Education and Welfare Society President Parveen Tawab were also present on the occasion.
