SWABI, May 14: Represen-tatives of two non-governmental organisations said on Sunday that they had launched a campaign for the rehabilitation of the blind in Swabi district and Skardu.

The campaign had been launched by the Civil Society Human and Institutional Development (Chip) and Sight Sever International (SSI) under a three-year programme, they said.

But the two NGOs said they were not in a position to unveil the three-year expenditures and said they had only got funds according to their activities.

Surveys have been conducted for identification of the blind. The main objective of the programme, they said, is to remove a sense of deprivation from the minds of the sightless and encourage them take their place as equal and responsible members of society.

In Swabi district, they said, the identified areas were Salim Khan, Swabi Khas, Topi, Dagai, Kalabat, Anbar, Chota Lahor, Sheikh Jana, Kalu Khan and Mankai. Similarly, they said, Besak and Bada in the mountainous region of Gadoon were also included in the campaign.

In each area of the district, they said, one male and one female were deputed to provide training to the blind.

At present, they said, they were only working on irreversible blindness, while partial blindness was expected to be included later in the programme. So far, they said, 221 irreversible blind were enlisted in the areas, while work was continuing for identification of genuine cases.