Turks donate Hospital and school building underdeveloped area peoples

Lahore: Construction work to establish a 50-bed state-of-the-art hospital in “Rakh Khanpur” and a new high school in “Baseera Town” located in the flood-hit areas of Muzaffargarh district has been completed.

Republic of Turkey has donated both the institutions as a token of love and affection for the Pakistani brethren in distress. The newly constructed buildings of hospital and school were handed over to the relevant departments of the Punjab Government here today in a ceremony held in Civil Secretariat Committee Room.

Provincial Minister for Education Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan and Advisor to Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique, Secretary Health Punjab Babar Hayyat Tarrar, Secretary Schools Punjab Abdul Jabbar Shaheen, Director General Health Services Punjab Dr. Zahid Pervaiz, Addl. Secretary (Development) Ghulam Farid and ADC (G) Muzaffargarh attended the ceremony while a Turk delegation headed by the Country Coordinator, Turk International Cooperation Agency (TIKA) Mehmet Samil Emin exchanged the handing over and taking over documents with the relevant officers of the Punjab government.

The Turk delegation disclosed that Turk Prime Minister will himself inaugurate the state-of-the-art hospital and the newly constructed school at Muzaffargarh suburbs in the last week of December this year. Khawaja Salman Rafique told the delegation that the new hospital will be equipped with the latest healthcare facilities particularly in Paediatrics and gynaewnocology while a trauma center will also be established in this hospital.

Provincial Minister for Education Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan assured the Turk delegation that the best teaching staff will be provided to the students of the school donated by Turk government and classes will commence from the next academic session in March 2014. He disclosed that the Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif wanted to raise the level of this school to a center of excellence which would be run by Daanish Schools Authority in collaboration with the board of management comprising of a representative of TIKA coupled with local industrialists and philanthropists from the area.The Minister suggested that a portion of the school would be identified for establishment of a vocational training school.

Financial assistance from TIKA and technical assistance from TEVTA would result in an excellent opportunity for the poorest of the poor in the area to enable their children to avail a fair chance to excel in life, the Minister added.