Main features of the program include a home based care and training program for the families, persons with disabilities and community members; medical and surgical care; physical, occupational and vocational therapy.
Many persons are also taught new skills and awarded scholarships for educational degrees.
An estimated 12% of Pakistan's population is disabled. They are hidden away or 'warehoused' as the society at large fails to see them as normal. Either heaping sympathy or keeping them out of view is the usual reaction.
Subh-e-Nau's program focuses on mainstreaming individuals with conditions and injuries of the spinal cord, and serious physical disabilities.
SN's Disability Reduction And Rehabilitation Program (SNDRRP) was put together originally for sportsmen suffering serious injuries, and was later expanded in response to the tragic October 2005 earthquake. SN worked in collaboration with major hospitals in the region and setup programs at 5 major sites.
The program is committed to avoiding disabilities, and successfully transition the disabled from facilities to the community. SN's approach is community based, and is the first of its kind. Collaborating partners include Toronto Rehab, the International Center for Disability and Rehabilitation at the University of Toronto one of the world's most prestigious rehabilitation sciences program, besides 12 other international and national organizations.
We work in and around remote areas of Muzaffarabad district, with plans of expanding the program to Bagh. We work with more than 2,500 persons with disabilities every year. These are men, women and children who have been disabled as a result of trauma or a hereditary spinal condition.
Seen in blue on left, he plays volleyball as part of his rehab therapy at the CGH Hospital Rawalpindi. The facility was setup for earthquake victims. SN collaborated in running programs at 5 major sites.
