April 21, 2002

RECENTLY, the management of the magazine Special Pakistan organized functions in the provincial capitals in collaboration with the Directorate General of Special Education, Islamabad, to introduce its publication to readers all over the country. The focus was on the teaching staff of institutions providing education for special children/students and their parents. The magazine (www.pakistanspecial.org) is now Pakistan’s first online magazine for special people.

In Karachi the function was held in the Special Education Centre for Mentally Retarded Children in Gulistan-i-Jauhar. Children, parents and teachers who attended were told about the magazine and its regularly-updated website. In a way it was like a second launching for the Pakistan Special.

Handicapped or ‘special’ people are looked after and receive consideration all over the world. Unfortunately in our society, which is not so caring, the scenario is different. Special people are often neglected and do not enjoy their rights about which they are not even informed. Thus they are not always provided recreation facilities or any kind of entertainment, which could have eased their suffering.

It is estimated, according to the latest survey, that 10.10 per cent of the population in the country is disabled. The disabilities vary from person to person. Some are physically handicapped, while others are visually impaired. There are some with hearing impairments while some are mentally handicapped (who need the most care). But all in all theirs is an underprivileged community, which is leading a miserable life. In a country where the literacy rate is only 48 per cent, the disabled are doubly disadvantaged.

Considering the importance of the problems of the special community, a team of dedicated mediapersons under the guidance of Farhat Abbas, a seasoned journalist, hit on the idea of launching a monthly magazine for the 10 million handicapped in the country.

The proposal was first discussed at the National Institute for the Handicapped (NIH) in December 1999 in Islamabad. Special Pakistan, as the periodical was named, was to be the first of its kind in the history of Pakistan.

The inaugural issue was published in June 2000. The magazine has been appearing regularly ever since. Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan is its patron-in-chief with Farhat Abbas as its chief editor. Though the basic purpose of the magazine is to highlight the social, educational and health problems of the most deprived class of our society, it also carries interesting and informative articles on all kinds of subjects under the sun, interviews of renowned personalities, accounts of historical events and sports news. The magazine is the first Pakistani magazine for special people.

Priced at Rs50 a copy, the magazine has a limited circulation. But Farhat Abbas, chief editor, and the man who came up with the idea hopes that the readership will grow. “As the magazine is a new concept, it will take time for it to be accepted by the people in general and special people in particular,” the editor says optimistically.

Right now, the special education centres, NGOs, foreign missions, ministries, autonomous bodies, government departments/organizations, bookstalls, etc are its main subscribers.

Receiving no funds from the government and being published on a self-help basis, Special Pakistan certainly needs publicity to generate funds through advertisements and subscription. The magazine is ABC- (Audit Bureau of Circulation) certified and is on the central media list of the government. It is also recognized by the ministry of special education.

The online version of the magazine is managed by the IUCN, the World Conservation Union, which is also working on developing a discussion forum-cum-newsgroup for the special community so that readers can meet online with others like themselves, make friends and share views.

“There are over 600,000 disabled children in Karachi alone,” Farid Ahmed Yousfani, regional director and principal of the government-run Special Educational Centre, says. The centre now serves as the provincial headquarter of Pakistan Special.

Visiting the centre itself was an eye-opener. One doesn’t realize what the handicapped have to go through. Inaugurated in April 1986, the centre started from a rented bungalow in the DHA. At that time it just had seven or eight students but now there are around 150 students benefiting from the facility.

“We receive funds from the government for just 40 students. The rest become our responsibility,” the principal explains. The institution has a pick-and-drop facility for all its 150 students. “Sometimes there is not enough fuel and the buses too need proper maintenance. Always finding ourselves short of funds, we began looking for other alternatives. That’s where the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) comes in. They help raise funds, arrange medical insurance (many times out of their own pockets) and arrange jobs for special people,” Mr Yousfani, who is himself deeply involved in the cause, adds.

One hopes that these caring people, who are so actively involved in the cause of special people, will succeed in their endeavours. Hopefully the Pakistan Special will succeed in creating public awareness and reaching out to the people who are willing to extend a helping hand.

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