Karachi: The Dawood Foundation (TDF), represented by its Trustee, Abdul Samad Dawood; and Network of Organizations Working for People with Disabilities (NOWPDP) represented by its President, Amin Hashwani, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to promote inclusion of persons with disabilities (PWDs) through building accessibility, improved attitudes, and disability knowledge of staff.
As a part of this agreement, TDF and NOWPDP will be working together in making the science centre an inclusive space for the differently a bled. This will be achieved through the organization of disability sensitization sessions, sign language trainings, and equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities. NOWPDP will also conduct an accessibility audit of the entire facility. These projects hope to create awareness about individuals with special needs with the aim of integrating them into mainstream society.
Ronaq Lakhani, Chairperson, Special Olympics Pakistan, and Christoph S. Sprung, Director, MSC, were also present on the occasion.
The Dawood Foundation:
The Dawood Foundation (TDF) is a not-for-profitfamily foundation based in Karachi, Pakistan. It works to empower individuals through education to create social change. TDF has been working in Pakistan since the 1960s and has been greatly involved in establishing various formal and informal education institutions across the country. TDF’s informal learning initiatives include popularizing science through its umbrella of TDF Magnifi Science, raising awareness about the environment through TDF Nature Series, and promoting heritage conservation through TDF Ghar.
NOWPDP:
NOWPDP operates in the development sector with a focus on inclusion through empowerment of persons with disabilities. NOWPDP’s views on persons with disabilities is for them to be an important stakeholder in the bigger picture, whether one considers education or employment, ergo the saying “A Part. Not Apart”. The core values behind NOWPDP’s framework are empathy, action and social justice. Therefore, the splayed fingers in their logo represent the whole, with the smaller, slightly different thumb representing persons with disabilities as an integral part of it.
