By Malik Ashfaq Ahmad Shahid | Chief Executive
Dear Global Supporters, Donors, and Friends,
Every child deserves the opportunity to communicate, express feelings, build relationships, and participate in family and community life.
Yet, for many young children in Pakistan who experience speech and language delays, access to timely assessment and professional support remains difficult. Families may struggle to recognize early developmental concerns, find qualified speech-language therapists, or afford the cost of regular therapy sessions.
For a family already facing financial hardship, the cost of specialized developmental care can be overwhelming. As a result, some children may wait longer than necessary for assessment and support during their early years.
At Sanash Welfare Foundation (SWF), we believe that no child should be denied developmental support because their family cannot afford it.
Our project, Unlock Their Voices: Help Children Overcome Speech, aims to improve access to professional speech and language support, increase parental awareness, and help families obtain appropriate services for children experiencing communication difficulties.
Although implementation has been delayed by organizational banking and regulatory challenges, our commitment to these children and their families remains strong.
Why Early Speech and Language Support Matters
The first years of life are an important period for communication, learning, social interaction, and development.
Children develop speech and language at different rates. However, when a child experiences persistent communication difficulties, timely assessment by qualified professionals can help identify their needs and determine whether intervention is appropriate.
In underserved communities across Pakistan, several barriers can prevent families from obtaining this support:
Speech and language difficulties can have different underlying causes. Some children may also have broader developmental needs, including autism or other neurodevelopmental conditions. A qualified professional can help assess each child's circumstances and recommend appropriate support.
Early assessment is not about labelling a child. It is about understanding that child's needs and opening pathways to support, communication, learning, and inclusion.
Our Project: Unlock Their Voices
Sanash Welfare Foundation developed this initiative to help reduce financial and access barriers for children experiencing speech and communication difficulties, particularly those from vulnerable and low-income families.
Through the project, we aim to develop a practical support model that connects families with qualified professionals and appropriate developmental services.
Our planned areas of intervention include:
1. Early Identification and Assessment
Help families recognize potential speech and language concerns and access appropriate assessments by qualified professionals.
2. Affordable Speech and Language Therapy
Mobilize donor support to help eligible children from financially disadvantaged families access professional therapy services.
3. Parent and Caregiver Guidance
Improve awareness of communication development and provide families with guidance on supporting their children's communication at home, in coordination with qualified professionals.
4. Partnerships with Rehabilitation Centres
Develop collaborations with speech-language therapists, rehabilitation centres, and relevant child development professionals to facilitate referrals and appropriate service delivery.
5. Developmental Inclusion and Awareness
Encourage compassionate, informed attitudes toward children with speech and communication difficulties and promote access to appropriate developmental support.
Our longer-term vision is to help children communicate more effectively, participate more confidently in everyday activities, and access opportunities for learning and social inclusion.
An Important Project Update: Banking and Regulatory Challenges
We want to be transparent with our supporters about the current implementation status.
Sanash Welfare Foundation continues to face difficulties completing the establishment of an operational organizational bank account in Pakistan that meets the necessary Know Your Customer (KYC), banking, and applicable regulatory and tax-compliance requirements for project funding.
The process involves documentation and verification requirements across relevant institutional, banking, and regulatory channels. Completing these procedures has taken longer than anticipated.
As a result, we have not yet been able to put the required organizational banking arrangements in place to receive and administer project funding through the intended channels.
The planned project-funded speech therapy activities have therefore not yet commenced.
We recognize that this delay affects children and families who could benefit from more affordable access to professional services. We also recognize our responsibility to ensure that all project funds are handled through appropriate, transparent, and compliant arrangements.
We are continuing to work toward resolving the outstanding requirements. We cannot yet confirm a completion date, but we remain committed to proceeding when the necessary authorizations and financial arrangements are in place.
This challenge has reinforced an important principle for our organization: sustainable humanitarian and development programmes require both a clear social mission and reliable systems for financial accountability.
Why We Are Asking Our Global Community to Stand With Us
Our request to donors is simple: please keep supporting the vision of this project while we work to complete the requirements needed for implementation.
The need for affordable speech and language support does not disappear while administrative processes continue. Families still need information, children still need appropriate assessments, and access to qualified professionals remains important.
Continued donor interest can help strengthen the resources available for the project once the necessary arrangements permit implementation.
We are not suggesting that therapy sessions have already started or that contributions have already produced beneficiary outcomes. Rather, we are asking our global community to help sustain a project that is preparing to address an important unmet need.
Your support can help us work toward:
Every contribution matters because the cost of therapy can be a substantial burden for families with limited resources.
How You Can Help
We invite individual donors, monthly supporters, philanthropic organizations, corporate social responsibility programmes, child development advocates, and members of the Pakistani diaspora to support this initiative.
You can help by:
Donate: Support our GlobalGiving project to help build the resources needed for the planned interventions, subject to applicable funding and financial requirements.
Share: Circulate the project link with your friends, family, colleagues, and professional networks.
Partner: Rehabilitation centres, qualified speech-language therapists, developmental specialists, and child-focused organizations can help us explore appropriate collaboration opportunities.
Raise Awareness: Encourage families to seek professional advice when they have concerns about a child's speech or language development.
Supporters can also help us reach individuals and organizations that believe access to developmental care should not depend on a family's income.
Our Commitment to Transparency and Responsible Implementation
We understand that donor confidence depends on honest reporting, responsible financial management, and realistic communication.
Our immediate priority is to complete the outstanding banking and compliance requirements. Once the necessary arrangements are in place and sufficient resources are available, we intend to move forward with implementation planning, beneficiary identification, professional referrals, and appropriate monitoring of project activities.
We will communicate material developments and report activities and outcomes as they occur.
Our commitment is to build a project that is not only compassionate in its purpose but also accountable in its implementation.
Together, We Can Help Every Child Be Heard
A child's difficulty communicating should never mean that their needs are ignored or that their family must face the challenge alone.
With appropriate professional support, family involvement, and access to developmental services, children can be better supported in building communication skills and participating in everyday life.
At Sanash Welfare Foundation, we remain determined to help make these opportunities more accessible to vulnerable families in Pakistan.
Our project has faced delays, but the purpose behind it remains unchanged.
Please continue standing with us. Help us prepare for implementation, expand awareness, and work toward a future in which every child has the opportunity to communicate, connect, and thrive.
Thank you to every donor, supporter, and advocate who believes that every child's voice matters.
#UnlockTheirVoices #SpeechTherapy #SpeechAndLanguageDevelopment #EarlyIntervention #ChildDevelopment #EveryChildMatters #AutismAwareness #DisabilityInclusion #InclusiveHealthcare #AffordableTherapy #ChildWellbeing #SupportChildren #Pakistan #GlobalGiving #SanashWelfareFoundation #DonateForImpact #LeaveNoChildBehind
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
