Srinagar: A children’s home in Baramulla Thursday became a centre of attraction for the audience as students performed on stage to captivate the attention and appreciation of the audience.
From recitation of Quranic verses to performance of students on different cultural items, the students at Dar-ul-Muzaffar Children’ home Baramulla exhibited their talent during the day-long Annual Day celebrations.
The Annual Day was organised by Peoples Education Trust (PET) Welfare Society- a Charitable Organization.
The event which was presided over by the Justice (Retd) Bashir Ahmad Kirmani started with the recitation of Quranic verses followed by the student performance on different items including group dance, Qawali, speeches besides Kashmiri Rouf and Laddii Shah presented by a girl student.
In his welcome address, the officiating chairman of PET Welfare Society Prof Ismael who is also the former Principal of the Government Degree College (GDC) Baramulla briefed about the functioning of the Trust.
“Annual Day is celebrated to share performance of an organization and provide a platform to students to exhibit their hidden talent,” he said
Briefing about the vision of the PET Welfare Society, he said that the aim is to assist the deserving youth to seek education and empower them to live a productive life with dignity, honour and self-reliance.
“We also help the needy to overcome hardships and to ameliorate the lot of those who have received buffets at the hands of time and chance,” he said.
The organisation also provides counselling for economic upliftment of under-privileged and neglected sections of the society and builds a knowledge-cum-education infrastructure for this purpose.
He said the Society runs two day-and-night Child Care Institutions for destitute children namely Dar-ul-Muzaffar Children’s Home, Bagh-i-Islam in Baramulla with an intake capacity for 50 female children.
“Another institute is Dar-Ul-Salam Children’s Home Jadeed Baghat, Sopore with intake capacity for 50 male Children,” he said adding that the Society provides day and night care facilities including private coaching and skill development training like computer education to the boarders of these Homes.
He said the admission of these children is managed in nearby schools and all expenses are borne by the organization.
“All these students who pursue higher studies after leaving the Children’s Homes are provided financial assistance to continue their higher studies,” he said, adding that around 43 female and 31 male children were enrolled in respective Homes.
The theme of the Annual Day celebration was Rights and Responsibilities of Women. During the proceedings of the function, the students delivered speeches highlighting the importance of gender equality and women empowerment. The students discussed the role and responsibilities of the women in contemporary times. One of the students while referring to low enrolment of girl students in schools stressed for gender equality in the society.
Another female student while presenting Laddi Shah talked about the present era of competition where the students are forced by their parents to be in a rat race. She also depicted the present age of unemployment where the highly qualified youth are roaming jobless in J&K, which has devalued their degrees.
Among others, head of the Physics Department at GDC Baramulla, Prof Tariq Ahmad Chalkoo was also present at the occasion.
“I believe that we should not give these students (destitute) the societal empathy but should make them skilled and enable them to compete in the present world,” he said.
Justice (retd) Bashir Ahmad Kirmani in his presidential address talked about gender equality and said women folk should be given equal space in families.
“It does not make any sense if you don’t give equal space to women in your families but raise your voice for their existence in society. It should begin from your own family,” he said.
He said the women should be encouraged to participate in decision-making in their own families and should be respected as well.