Pakistan is a large country with an estimated population of 197.2 million (as of 2017- World population review report) making it the fifth most populous country in the world. Whereas the total population of PWD’s (5.035 million as of 2012) in Pakistan, is astonishingly more than the population of any of the individual countries population of Norway, New Zealand, Lebanon or Kuwait. From within Pakistan, PWD’s population is more than the combined population of three cities i.e. Multan, Hyderabad and Peshawar. Current annual growth rate of disabilities is going unchecked – at 2.65 % per annum as compared to the annual growth rate (2.03%) of Pakistan’s total population. Assuming that one PWD affects one household, the total population affected by PWDs is 29.2 million.
To cater the immediate needs of the PwDs there are quite a few Rehabilitation centers in larger cities of Punjab. Whereas rural areas do not have any Rehabilitation Center. Many of the disabled population living in rural and slum areas are either not aware of the education and rehabilitation services offered by the rehabilitation centers or do not have access to rehabilitation services. Hence JECUP since 2014 commits to serve this community with a vision to “Provide clinical care, education and comprehensive rehabilitative services for all individuals with disabilities in the selected project areas; specifically the poor and destitute.”
JECUP has 2 Disabled Support Centers; one in Raiwind Town which is 35.41 km South West from Lahore city and the other in Mangamandi which is 45 km North East from Lahore city. The 2 centers; Disabled support center 1 and Disabled support center-2 are providing its services of physiotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, home based treatment, counceling, provision of orthopedic appliances to PwDs suffering from Polio, Rickets, Club foot, Cerebral Palsy, Mentally handicapped etc. We are serving 30-35 patients daily, coming for therapies and checkups at both centers.
JECUP is continuously making efforts to further expand the program from an institutional approach to a Community based approach. We want to develop the capacity of the community, to address the rehabilitation needs of persons with disabilities within their environment (community.) CBR is supposed to be an integrated strategy, to address the needs of PWDS within the overall community development process. For this goal to be achieved, CBR has got to be embedded in all aspects of the social development action, interwoven into the culture of people, backed by political action like appropriate legislation and policy making.
Following are the Two Projects being run by JECUP:
