RGF holds financial assistance workshop for children

Pahalgam, Nov 18: With an aim of reaching out to the terror hit children and their guardians, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) held a two days psychosocial workshop for around 40 children at Pahalgam on November 16 and 17.

These children have been orphaned due to terror related incidents in the recent past in different districts of Kashmir Valley. The workshop was also attended by the guardians of these children, mostly mothers and grandparents.

This was the first physical interaction between these children who are enrolled for scholarship during the last 5 to 6 years.

These children are getting financial support for their education from Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and their fathers have been killed by terrorists in different areas of Kashmir valley.

"The main aim of the workshop was to meet these orphan children face to face and also to interact with their guardians. Rajiv Gandhi Foundation has been supporting these children for the last many years and we provide them educational scholarships up to class XII. This programme is known as INTERACT -The Initiative to Educate, Rehabilitate and Assist Child Victims of Terror. We have been running this programme since 1993 in J&K .There are 700 INTERACT alumni who have completed their education and are working in different fields. Students supported under the INTERACT Programme are called INTERACT Scholars” said Ajaz Ahmad Sofi who is the local coordinator for RGF in Kashmir.

Among others who attended the workshop included noted clinical psychologists , educationists and child rights activists. The mothers of these orphan children appreciated the way this workshop was conducted. They appealed to the RGF management to hold such events frequently at district level.

Noted Social Activists Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat, Dr Rouf Malik and Mushtaq Pahalgami also attended the workshop.