KARACHI, July 20: A large number of handicapped children had fun for over a couple of hours at a function organised at a local city hotel here on Saturday.

The function for the inmates of the Scinosa Day Care Home for the Special Children was organized by the Pakistan Hotels Association.

Special children danced and sang national and folk songs, besides participating in the quiz and the speech contests, during more than two-hour long function organized at the Mehran Hotel.

The PHA chief Syed Arshad Ali, on the occasion, said that the association was inspired by the initiative taken by noted social worker and artist Jimmy Engineer, who has been organizing such functions for handicapped children for over a year now.

He said that the association was greatly impressed by the enthusiasm shown by special children during these programmes and had thought of putting in its share providing some entertainment to special children by organizing such programmes.

He said that in the western countries handicapped people were provided many special privileges by the government, but here they were not even given their due rights. He said that the PHA had decided to hold at least one such programme at different hotels in the city every month.

He said that the PHA, by organizing such programmes, was trying to create and spread awareness regarding the issues being faced by that neglected section of the society.

He urged philanthropists to come forward and provide assistance in whichever shape they could to the organizations were involved in providing education and training to special people.

He said that the PHA had also approached the government and held a meeting with the Sindh chief secretary and was in the process of discussing a proposal under which the handicapped children used by the beggar-mafia would be identified, picked up and provided education and training so that they could be reintegrated into the society.

S. Khalid Anwer of the Mehran Hotel said he was happy that the children were having fun and enjoying the view from the rooftop. Nighat Sultana of the Scinosa Day Care Home for Special Children also spoke on the occasion.