The good children

The good children

It is heartening to see a tiny school running in the streets of Heera Mandi; the promise of an education for the children of commercial sex workers.

These children are ostracised by society; rejected by default even before they develop personalities and relationships.

The “Apni Taleem” project by SHEED, an NGO working in the locality for the uplift of sex workers and their children, offers a one-year foundation course that allows students to read and write in the hopes that they can be enrolled into public schools later.

On the front wall of the school is written “Mein acha hoon” (I am good). It is an affirmation to these children that they are not bad, because the world tells them otherwise, a teacher said.

While this is a big step forward in alleviating the hardship faced by these children, it is not enough. More needs to be done to bring this reality to our national conscience.

In what other ways can these children be incorporated into mainstream society?

How do we convince the state and the society to give these children the opportunities they deserve in life regardless of the stigmatised background they come from?

Dawn.com invites its readers to give their views and suggestions.

 

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23 Responses to “The good children”

  1. zareena says:

    What is required is changing the law that sets them apart.Ironicaly a column in all forms(birth certificate,National Identity card,school forms etc) asks for the father’s name,This should be replaced by a neutral term :parent’s name which would then help the parent/family. to register their children without having to deal with a lot of awkward questions.A superfical survey of the family courts gives one a fair idea as to how tragic/frustating this issue is not only for these children but also those that have been abandoned by their father’s and are lovingly being brought up by their hardworking proud mothers.

  2. irshad says:

    Good step taken by NGO may GOD bless them all. and i am ready for any help.

  3. Muhammad umer says:

    itz really very good step. i wish i could teach them…

  4. waqas says:

    I might be wrong. But have observed that if parents grow their children with “Haram”, the very personality of the child tends to be negative most of the time and they do harm society in any way. I dont argue against education, but should’nt we educate their parents to give “halal” up-bringing to their childs.

    • Naeem Ahmed Khan says:

      Waqas, your concept of halal and haram raising up of children shows that you do not understand Islam at all or at best that you follow Mullah Islam which has nothing to do with Islam. All children are Allah’s children. As a society it is our responsibility to give them a fair opportunity in life so thatthey are able to distinguish between ” haram ” and “halal” otherwise we not be able to stand up before Allah and say, I followed your teachings. Please understand Islam well if you call your self a Muslim and stop following your uneducated Mullah!!

  5. Imran Jiwani says:

    Can the writer of this article please provide the address of this school. And some kind of contact details if possible.

  6. Excellent work. Praises for NGO. If NGO needs me to work for them I am available. I worked for US Govt. for 30 years as Regional Affairs Officer, Lahore. Worked with NGOs. Also worked with UNDP Project
    entitled “bUNYAD” for a year. I have Masters in Public Administration and multiple Management Skills Courses and Project Management Courses. I am retired now but willing to work with this NGO if they need me.

  7. dr abdul shakoor bhatti says:

    I’d like to appreciate the work done by this organisation. But I’m not sure that the name of the school is correct or leads to a discrimination amongst children. If their parents are involved in this job so this is not their fault and such kind of name of school doesn’t look nice at least to me. May be I’m wrong but according to my point of view this is not a good name especially of any school irrespective to the students studying there.

  8. Waftab says:

    Although it is a good step. Yet I am afraid that there is a high liklihood that these children might grow up to be alientaed individuals who cannot relate to people in their families or the outside world. Who will thier friend be and who will they marry when they grow up. Just giving them an education and leaving it at that is not enough. Their inclusion in society will need long term emotional support. There should be some mechanism for that and some sort of mentor program should be provided to guide them through the foreseeable social hardships they will face as they grow up.

  9. Saadia Mirza says:

    Hey….where is the complete article by Farah Naz Moazzam. This is a summary of the real article I read yesterday. Loved the piece and wanted to read it again. Whats up with the random editing???

  10. Ali S says:

    Excellent and a much-needed effort. How can we contribute?

  11. Ashok Pandey says:

    Great Work by th NGO.

  12. sairah says:

    a good initiative…….

  13. Marine says:

    Well done NGO, keep it up.

  14. SAMEEN GAUHAR says:

    one thing we all should know is that no matter who they belong to. they are kids anyway. they did not have the right to manage their arrival in the world as per the requirements of the society. kids have a right to live, to get good quality education, and we cannot tell them that they are bad bloods. we call ourselves members of the islamic state but even once have we ever considered ourselves ones? our religion has given a great stress on the rights of the children and there is nothing we can do to abandon those kids of their rights. they have a right to study and they have a right to live in this world as a respectable being.

  15. Mehdi says:

    Don’t abhor the felon. Abhor the felony

  16. Manzoor Naazer says:

    The NGO has taken a commendable initiave and set a model for othes. Many more NGOs should come out and contribute for the upliftment of deprived segments of society. I would even suggest that our Religious parties and organizations should come forward and help integrate these children and “worker parents” into an Islam society, through ‘DAWAH’, education and material help for their livelihood and changing their work /profession.

  17. Hammad Khan says:

    It is heartwarming to see such a noble effort for the benifit of innocent children. Hats off to this NGO. It should be irrelevant where these children are coming from, however in our modern Pakistan, which is going backward to stone age, I can only samphatasize with these children for the treatment dished out to them by the medieval society.

    News like these are a flikering candle in the darkness which surrounds us in the shape of extrmisim, bigotry and the prejudices that have become the norm of our society.

    Best wishes to all these children.

  18. Majid Maqsood says:

    Its very good step and I really commend the NGO which working for noble cause. Govt should also move forward for this basic right.

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