KARACHI, Feb 17: A large number of people, accompanied by their children, thronged to a day-long fund-raising mela organized by the Dar-ul-Khushnud on Sunday.

The mela, with an entrance fees of Rs2, is an annual event that the Dar-ul-Khushnud, a centre for the mentally handicapped children, organises to generate funds for its organisation.

A large number of stalls were selling food stuff — sandwiches, burgers, soft drinks, allu channa, kabab rolls, etc were drawing large crowds.

Children, however, were making beelines to the stalls where artists were drawing different designs and doing face-paintings. They were also participated in various games being offered and played at different stalls.

A stall set up by the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre’s Manghopir development Project was also selling goods — leather purses, embroidery works, and other handicrafts etc — made by leprosy patients.

Dar-ul-Khushnud,s principal, Zafar Iqbal, giving a brief history of his organisation said that it was established by the Church of Pakistan in 1980, and was at present providing special education to over 140 students with the assistance of some 55 staff members, many volunteers a few of them foreigners — including Norwegian, Britons, etc.

He said that children aged between 4 and 18 years were being provided training in self-help, social training and communications.

He said that Dar-ul-Khushnud also provided vocational training to handicapped people of 18 years of age and above in candle making, carpentry and gardening, while women were provided training in cooking, sewing, and embroidery.

He said that outreach teams of the centre went to various low-income localities five days a week to teach the handicapped living there these skills so that they could earn their livelihood respectably.

He said the annual expenses of the centre of over Rs3.5 million were met through fund-raising activities and donations from philanthropists, but the government had never given any financial assistance. It also received some donations — equal to around 20 per cent of its budget — from foreign charities operating in Germany, the United States and Netherlands.

He said the organisation had approached the Bait-ul-Maal many a time in the past, but it did not get any assistance from it, probably because it was established by the Church.

He, however, added that admission to the Dar-ul-Khushud was not restricted to the Christians only, and out of the total 140 students, over 110 were Muslims, 10 to 15 were Christians, four or five were Hindus, and one was a Parsi.