Report by: Fatima Jafar
Peshawar: According to global Times news Agency Europe, A two days, intensive but unique and unprecedented training workshop was arranged by the FRIENDS of PARAPLEGICS, (a local NGO), in collaboration with the PARAPLEGIC CENTER, Peshawar (an autonomous body of the Govt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), in Hayatabad, Peshawar, in order to educate and sensitize officers from selected branches of the Bank of Khyber, from all over the country, regarding the rights and issues of people with various disabilities, in compliance with the recently devised policy of the State Bank of Pakistan, for the financial inclusion of PWDs. Carefully designed by an expert team of various physical rehab professionals working at PCP, (the only facility of its kind in Pakistan, providing Comprehensive Physical and Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services to people with Spinal Cord Injuries), in collaboration with the dedicated wheelchair bound disability activists of the Friends of Paraplegics and renowned educationists from the Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar (IMS), “it was a phenomenal success”.Officials from eight model branches of the bank located in major cities of all the provinces, participated in the training, showing the commitment of the bank to establish models of the aforementioned bank, having full accessibility and well equipped to facilitate persons with all kinds of disabilities, to create an inclusive society for all, in Pakistan. The training was aimed to; Educate participants regarding various types of physical, mental, emotional and developmental disabilities,
How to minimize environmental & cultural barriers and optimize functional mobility,
Address various misconceptions or taboos and encourage inclusion,
Promote financial accessibility for people with all kinds of disabilities.It’s pertinent to mention that 15 to 20% people are globally faced with some kind of disability, who are in need physical and/or psychosocial assistance in order to function at their optimal level and put their share in their respective economies. Latest reports of WHO, reveals that one percent of a population needs to be provided with wheelchairs besides hundreds of other assistive devices including computer programs and various types of electronic gadgets to improve their communication, activities of daily living and overall functioning.
The participants were also briefed about the different types of disabilities and assistive devices. They were trained on sign language, different disability disorders, physical accessibility of bank premises, handling & addressing the special needs of PWDs and recruitment of PWDs as per defined employment quota. They were also trained how to facilitate PWDs in a dignified manner and how to educate them about the banking products/services. In his concluding remarks, Dr. Syed Muhammad Ilyas, CEO, PCP and a renowned disability activist, stated that the advent of such a well thought over workshop on the financial empowerment of people with disabilities is not only a good omen for PWDs in Pakistan, it will also lead to a significant increase in the financial growth of the country, inshallah.