The Association for the Rehabilitation of Physically Disabled - ARPD’s vision is that persons with disabilities are an integral part of a society with rights to have and enjoy all material and intellectual facilities available to all other members of the society. It is the responsibility of the society itself to create, arrange and provide for all necessary means and resources to make this integration comprehensive and practical.

Mission:

The ARPD’s mission is to provide and promote rehabilitation services to the people with disabilities, particularly in remote villages, city slums and sub-urbs, where these services are hardly available and least accessible. The means employed would be community oriented awareness creation, advocacy, networking, training and all such other activities that can be conducive to integration of the disabled / the handicapped into the mainstream society.

The Rehabilitation Centre for the Physically Disabled (RCPD), Peshawar is established by ARPD as a resource base for community oriented welfare and developmental activities.

The ARPD devises and promotes programmes, planned and procedure to increase opportunities for and enhance the status of all persons with disabilities for their total integration in the society.

The ARPD’s focus is on their:

• Right to health, education and skills training.

• Right to equal opportunities in employment

• Right of access to information.

• Right to personal liberty.

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We Owe it all to Mrs. Farhat Rehman...

Mrs. Farhat Rehman, who was one of the founders of the ARPD and the first Directress of the RCPD, embarked on her last journey on the morning of 1st May, 2005 in such a way that not even her family members could have a hint of her illness until she could not stand it any more and collapsed, leaving hundreds of her relatives, friends, colleagues and, most of all the disabled persons in tears and deep grief.

Farhat Rehman worked for 22 years on Community Based Rehabilitation Programme for disabled people. She was the founder of the largest disability network, called the National Disability Network (NDN), in Pakistan. She founded a group of women with disability, named as POWER (Promotion of Women Empowerment and Rehabilitation) in 11 cities of Pakistan, brining about a social change, in the creation of awareness and in the community development. She was the recipient of "The Fatima Jinnah Gold Medal" -one of the most prestigious prizes awarded to prominent civilians, from the Government of Pakistan in 2004 for her extensive voluntary services. Similarly, she received a shield from the President of Azad Kashmir in appreciation of her services in that area.

We thank God that such a person lived amongst us and resolve to carry on her mission for the rehabilitation of the disabled. We may not have the same steel nerves, the untiring strength and the fighting spirit as she had, but we solemnly pledge to put in our best to realize her dream of total integration of disabled persons into our social fabric.

May her soul rest in eternal peace (Ameen).

A Tribute to Mrs. Farhat Rehman by AIFO (Italian Association Amici di Raoul Follereau)

FARHAT RAHMAN Loss of a Friend and a Partner

CBR Service Network Pioneer Honoured by Pakistan

Disability Radio Worldwide is a dynamic, 30-minute weekly program, originates from Radio for Peace International in Costa Rica on short wave frequencies 7445 and 15050. Radio interview with Dr. Farhat Rehman.(140)

  Women with disabilities - Cooking, Fires, and Smoke by Farhat Rehman... Click to Download

It was Nov 1985 when some devoted local parents and professionals of Peshawar gathered at one platform to do something for the welfare and development of physically disable persons. Initially the treatment and education of poor and needy disabled children specially in the rural areas of Peshawar was the priority. Later on the services extended to all age groups. The basic theme of our work is "CBR" (Community Based Rehabilitation).

Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) is a bottom to top approach, with full participation of  local community and with maximum utilization of locally available resources. .We rented a two room house in village Nodeh Payyan, Bara Road, Peshawar in 1985. Now, ARPD has 50 beds residential rehabilitation center facility i.e. Rehabilitation Centre for the Physically Disabled. It also is working as a national  Resource Base with hostel facilities. ARPD has large network with similar NGOs / CBOs / Institutions  and this network is named as National Disability Network (NDN).

The ARPD is Registered under the (Voluntary & Registration Control) Ordinance 1961. The Registration number is DSW / NWFP / 208. The registration authority is Directorate of Social Welfare, NWFP.

The Rehabilitation Centre for the Physically Disabled (RCPD), Peshawar was established by ARPD as a resource base for community oriented welfare and development activities required for the rehabilitation and integration into society of the physically disabled persons.

1.   Provision of low-cost, affordable and easy accessible means and services to the physically disabled/ handicapped.

2.   Provision of treatment facilities or arranging referrals to improve physical condition of physically disabled persons and so make them as much independent physically as possible.

3.   To educate and/ or teach vocational skills to the physically disabled to enable and empower them to earn their own living.

4.   To make financial contribution or provide equipment assistance (as and when available) to the physically disabled for any feasible business activity by them and/ or for using their acquired skills to earn their living.

5.   Production/ dissemination of disabilities related literature, holding of seminars and adoption of such other means for the promotion of general public awareness about disabilities, precautions and preventive measures.

6.   Provision of assistance to the disabled in remote areas (who have never been reached before) through out-reach programme under the “Rehab Pakistan” project.

7.   Creation and expansion of Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) net-working.

8.   Training in treatment of physical disabilities and manufacture of prosthetic/ orthopaedic appliances.

9    Arranging for legal advice/ assistance to the physically disabled to get their rights (As and when required)