Al-Khidmat Foundation, a non-government organisation, has launched the Orphan Care Programme in Lahore.
A ceremony was held in this connection at a local hotel on Friday. Al-Khidmat Foundation will be looking after 200 orphans from Lahore and a total of 1,000 orphans in the Punjab.
Al-Khidmat Foundation General Secretary Abdus Shakoor presided over the ceremony. Shakoor cited UNICEF, as reporting that more than 4.2 million children in Pakistan are orphans.
A large proportion of these children are deprived of basic education and health facilities, he said. “If these children are neglected they will be unable to realise their potential. Many will end up child labourers. Others could end up as criminals.”
Al-Khidmat Foundation had earlier announced a Rs90 million budget for its Orphan Care Programme and announced that it will cater to 3,000 orphans from all four provinces, the FATA, Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.
In the first stage, Al-Khidmat Foundation will take responsibility for 200 orphans and spend Rs2,500 a month on each to cover food and education expenses.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 9th, 2013.