Education and care taking of around 400 patients suffering from mental disorders is at stake because of a shortage of funds at the Fountain House (FH), Pakistan Today learnt on Friday.
The administration of the FH said after the death of former executive director Professor Dr Haroon Rasheed, they were facing serious financial problems in meeting the Rs 3.5 million monthly expenditures for the mentally ill. The FH, an institute for mental health, was established by late Rasheed Ch in 1971 with a mission to support the mentally ill people. After his death in 2000, his son Prof Dr Haroon Rasheed Ch took charge of the FH affairs as an honorary executive director but his death one year ago caused a financial crisis at the FH and the organisation is now totally placed at the mercy of philanthropists.
The FH Lahore, beside caretaking of mentally unstable people, also provides medical services to mentally ill students of engineering, law, and social sciences. The institute has treated around six thousands patients since its establishment. During the lifetime of Prof Dr Haroon Rasheed no funding issue occurred at the FH. His personality attracted socialists and philanthropists to support the FH, however after his death, donors withdrew leaving the FH helpless. The organisation is now planning to start an advertisement campaign to obtain funds.
The institute is presently housed in a state of the art building near the Civil Secretariat Lahore where high class facilities are being provided to the patients. Although philanthropists and the founders of the FH are doing their best to supervise the project, it needs financial help from the public. FH Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sayed Rehan Hussain said the organisation was in dire need of funds. He said the government provided Rs 0.5 Million to the FH every month and the rest of the expenditure was covered by donations; however recently the organisation was falling short of money.
He said, “We at FH never launched an advertisement campaign to get funds. Philanthropists, on their own, supported us. But now we are in crisis and need help of the wealthy to keep the FH running.” Anum Noorstan, a BS honors student of Mass Communication at the LCWU and a volunteer at the FH, said around 400 mentally ill people including 80 females were present at the FH and their needs included food, clothing and residence. She said the FH provided them with education and all the modern facilities. Patients were taught various subjects including art.
Regular classes were held and best faculty rendered their services to educate the special people. She said taking care of the mentally ill was the society’s responsibility hence generous donations must be made to the FH. Maham Bader, a volunteer and a student of the PU Institute of Administrative Sciences (IAS), said the basic monthly expense of an average patient at the FH was around Rs 15,000. She said expenditures of treatment were beyond the basic amount. She requested wealthy peoples to understand the plight of patients at the FH and support them.
She said in the coming month of Ramadan, maximum alms must be donated to support the FH’s cause. She highlighted achievements of special people at the FH and said a number of recovered patients were now working in different organisations and it was only because of the efforts of the FH administration that they were contributing to the country. FH Human Resource Manager Ayesha Murtaza said, “There are separate male and female blocks for the patients where facilities including group therapy, counselling, art therapy and music therapy are provided.
Hundreds of people across the world rely on the FH and sent their patients here. The FH takes complete responsibility of its patients.” She said Dr Rasheed and Dr Haroon were a blessing for the patients. Although some families still supported the FH, it required a lot more funds and was seeking help. She said the FH staff and supporters had the mission to save the mentally disorder and make them working members of the society and to uphold the cause, the FH needed support from all sectors of the society.
After the sad demise of dr. Haroon Rasheed it seems that the donors, philanthropists and volunteers have withdrawn their cooperation because of FH's past, present and future plans. If someone ever visits FH website only pictures with the dignitaries with big guns of the management of FH on the welcoming page would be found. And if you ever visit to FH you will find that people come from different places for treatment of their beloved patients worrisome. The behavior of local administration with them seems to be so undesirable.
The current management of FH seems to be totally industrious from the well being of the patients both resident and OPD. FH has becomes only a show case to fetch donations from the donors. FH has retained some such patients who have been recovered but FH does want to let them go to their families because FH presents those patients as a model patient(s) so the money in terms of donation could be beg.
An interesting story of June 2011 that would shock to the readers. A patient namely Mr. Mohi-ud-Din Akram, who had been working in Avari Hotel Lahore in the capacity of Waiter in food and beverage department had got stress due to over-working and his domestic problems, Mr. Mohi-ud-din Akram got admitted with FH on March 20, 2007. He has been paid regular salary form his employer till to date. A man namely Muhammad Naeem (a Punjab government employee) who was his neighbor defrauded him from his money to the tune of Rs.180,000. Upon complaint to the chief minister Punjab complaint cell in the month of June (probably) by his younger brother, Mr. Junaid Akram, the defrauded money successfully recovered from the above said employee. interestingly, the medical superintendent, Dr. Syed Imran Murtaza not only favoured Naeem with Rs.20,000 as written off and balance amount Rs.160,000 kept with himself and got signed certain documents from Mr. Mohi-ud-Din Akram without getting consent of Mohi-ud-Din and the complainant Mr.Junaid Akram.
Mr. Junaid Akram has served a legal notice to the said MS – FH, Lahore twice a time through email and courier but remained awaited. The poor and patient Mr. Mohi-ud-Din Akram has once again defrauded through white collar cirme. The said MS is pleading that the recovered amount is set with FH as "Amanat" of Mohi-ud-Din.
So, when this kind of activities run at such kind of NGO or FH, who can donate to FH?
The breach of trust.
asalamoalaikum im from peshawar n i want to talk abt my brother he has some psychological problem he was in this prolem for 15 years he does not say any thing he just only lay in his room lonely does not talk to any one we take him to many psychatrist in peshawar n islamabad they give medicines but there is no recoveryinhis health plz can any one inform us abt his disease is there anyhope that he will recover from this disease plz do inform me i shall be very oblged
I am Mr Ziafat Hussain from chakwal. My son named Mohammad Noshad Ziafat. He is 20 years old. He is suffering from mental disease since last about 09 years. He talks lonely and some times, when some one ask him for bath or any other thing, He shouts on him/her. I take him to many psychiatrists in Rawalpindi and some other places, but no improvement became in his health. If some one can help me in this regard, i shall be obliged.
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