The Turkish state-run aid agency has established pre-vocational training areas at a major center for children with autism in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi.
The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) set up the modern system at the Sindh Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation to “ease the integration of children with autism into life and provide them with preparatory opportunities for advanced vocational training,” the agency said in a statement on Wednesday.
The pre-vocational training areas, which were renovated and equipped with furniture and electronic equipment, were inaugurated by Dursun Ali Yaşacan, the head of TIKA’s East and South Asia, Pacific and Latin America department, and Cemal Sangu, Turkish consul general in Karachi.
In his remarks at the ceremony, Yaşacan said TIKA develops and supports projects worldwide to ease the lives of disadvantaged groups.
Sangu expressed his gratitude to TIKA for choosing the right institution for the project, and thanked its officials for their dedicated services.
Dr. Irum Rizwan, head of the institute, highlighted the rapid increase in the number of individuals with autism worldwide, noting that one out of every 100 children in Pakistan is autistic.
She expressed her gratitude to TIKA for its support in helping these special children adapt to normal life.
A beneficiary mother, who has received rehabilitation services for her child for years, expressed her profound gratitude to TIKA and the Turkish people. She mentioned how the facility’s vocational training helped her son develop skills and eventually find employment.
The institute, established as Pakistan’s first training hospital for individuals with autism, provides rehabilitation and vocational training services to approximately 150 children daily. Besides motor skills development and daily life activities, it offers vocational training in crafts, lamination and cooking, while also educating academics and students.