User talk:Dr.I.K.Gill
Dr.I.K.Gill
He has devoted his life for the needy
Not long ago Dr.I.K.Gill an expert in psychology and physical education came over to Pakistan from Germany. He held workshops in special education and physical education. Under the leadership of Dr.Gill workshops were held in Karachi as well as in Lahore. In Karachi workshops, teachers from special education institutes attended under his able leadership. Teachers from Punjab and North Frontier Province attended the similar courses in Lahore. Dr.I.K.Gill taught mental health and physical education for handicapped children. During these workshops he instructed the teachers how to teach children in physical movements so that they are able to lead their lives as normal human beings and they do not remain dependant on others. Dr.I.K.Gill originally comes from Pakistan. He was born 1924 in a village in Sialkot District. He was born in a poor home therefore he had to labour hard in the fields. However, he was keenly interested in acquiring education. He did his primary schooling in his own village and did his high school graduation at C.T.I. High School, Sialkot. After high school he joined the army and served his country in British India Government. After release from the army he worked in Government College of Physical Education, Walton. Lahore as a superintendent and teacher. In 1956 he got a chance to go for higher studies in Germany in a college of physical education along with the university of Cologne, Germany. After graduation from Germany, he went to the University of Graz, Austria for Ph.D. Having completed his PhD he went back to Germany and worked as a teacher of physical education. During his service he happened to see a photo in a church magazine, which alerted his life profoundly for ever. They were the images of people suffering from leprosy. The moment he saw a fellow countryman, he was shaken through and through. At that moment he decided to go to Pakistan. Within a short time by the Grace of God through the German Leprosy Relief Association he landed in Pakistan with his newly wedded wife. He started his work in Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre in Karachi (e.g.the Leprosy Colony in a hut behind McLeod Road, later a building was bought in Frere Road in Saddar Bazaar) From 1962 to 1970 Dr, Gill worked for the welfare of Leprosy patients in Pakistan. Dr. Gill said about his mission “I always wanted to know those unfortunate people who are dependant in one way or the other upon others. My ambition was to teach such people to be able to do their own work and lead an independent happy life. Such unfortunate people are victim of unhappiness and misery, therefore my yearning was to help and work for the welfare of such weaker sections of community. So I thought I must involve myself in a difficult mission. For such vital mission I chose to come to my own beloved country Pakistan”. Dr. Gill concentrated his special attention on backward and handicapped children in Pakistan because in his opinion today’s child is a responsible citizen, a child is tomorrow`s father being the builder and protector of the next generation. Therefore to educate him or her today is very important. Dr. Gill said that besides food and refuge is necessary for these children but undoubted education most important. Dr. Gill revealed that he is very surprised to discover that parents of these unfortunate children have no ambition to educate these disadvantaged children. Today children are expected to contribute in the family income and expenditure. Let’s say that handicapped children cannot do so, but if they educated to look after their needs themselves and their person, they do not remain dependant upon others for the whole of their lives. Special education can make life easier and productive. In view of his services from 1962 -70 Government of Pakistan invited Dr.I.K.Gill to Pakistan. He came back to train teachers of physical and special education, so that these teachers could provide special education to needy children in their respective areas. Dr. Gill provided this facility in Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi. He stayed and carried on his services for about eight weeks to complete series of lectures. He also came back this year again to carry on series of special education training which took place in Lahore and Karachi. He appreciated greatly that three universities accepted the challenge and established the departments of special education. Dr. Gill trained forty teachers both in Lahore and Karachi who would further train teachers in special education. Therefore the number of teachers will be increased. Dr. Gill used modern techniques i.e. videos used in Germany, movies, wheelchairs, small sandbags, balloons and many more others. It was shown how normal and handicapped children solve their problems and with special training how a backward child can be taught to solve his/her problem. Dr. Gill visited many centres and practically taught the teachers to teach and treat special education. These courses ran in Karachi and Lahore for fifteen days from 9 am to 4 pm every day. Dr. Gill is convinced that long term strategy would certainly be beneficial for the education of backward and physically disadvantage children. He further said that during his demonstrations he used cheaper local materials so that training does not become expensive and burdensome. In Lahore Miss Anwar Perveen made adequate arrangements and in Karachi Mrs Talat Naseem was responsible for all aspects of running the courses. The special education training was sponsored under UNO - Worldwide Health Organisation (WHO) through the Pakistan Home Ministry under Director General of Education for this special training teachers were invited from throughout Pakistan.
Interviewed by Dr.Sheikh M. Akram
Editor; Parents Voice 27 November 1989 Karachi. Pakistan
Translated from Urdu by Ramnit Lall Rahi , U.K.
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Please don't add irrelevant discussion to talk pages as you did with this edit at Talk:Main Page. ShadowHalo 09:12, 18 February 2007 (UTC)