Words of an angel

Helen Keller once said, “Science may have found a cure for most evils, but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all – the apathy of human beings.”
This statement holds true for the state of affairs in Pakistan where disability is looked upon as a curse and disabled people treated as a hindrance.
According to the data collected by the Pakistan Association of the Deaf, 929,400 disabled people are present in Sindh, of which 385,984 are based in the rural areas and a majority of them have no access to basic education or health facilities.
The dismal situation has remained fairly unchanged except for the seven districts in the province where Right To Play (RTP) has made its presence felt.
RTP, a leading international humanitarian and development organisation uses the transformative power of sports and play to build essential skills in children, thereby driving social change in communities affected by differences, poverty and disease.
The organisation strongly believes in creating a safer place for children to learn and fosters hope that it is important for children to envision and realise a better future.
The programmes at RTP boast of being both sustainable and replicable and the two main guiding principles that guide their programmes to success are inclusion and sustainability.
The organisation also believes that children should not be marginalised due to reasons of gender, disability, social background and religion.
Keeping strong to their principles, RTP’s district office in Sanghar recently witnessed a positive impact being brought about in the life of Zara, a seven-year-old mentally challenged girl from Sanghar tehsil.
Zara, a slight girl with beautiful eyes was born into a large family comprising patriarchal grandparents, parents and numerous siblings.
Upon learning of her disability at an early stage, her parents felt that she was a burden and shunned her at every opportunity given, not realising that they were breaking the self-esteem of an intelligent young girl imprisoned within the walls of her disability.
Her siblings also made fun of her inability to understand things and passed nasty comments on her passive nature.
Life would have continued on in the same gloomy fashion for Zara had one of her aunts not taken pity on her condition and forced her parents to send her to the nearest school in their vicinity, the Government Girls Primary School (GGPS) Chak, Sanghar tehsil.
The school was one of the many United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)’s child-friendly schools where RTP’s ‘Life Skills Development through Sports and Play’ project was implemented and was funded by a grant endowed by UNICEF.
It focused on the healthy, social and emotional development of children and youth in a formal school setting.
When Zara was initially brought to the school by her aunt, she was quivering with fright and wanted to run away at every given chance.
To make matters worse, RTP’s ‘Life Skills Development through Sports and Play’ project had not yet been implemented in the school at that point and the teachers present felt that Zara would not be able to withstand studying with normal children and, hence, ignored her. Consequently, Zara started skipping school.
However, after RTP’s interventions took place in Sanghar tehsil and the project was implemented at GGPS Chak, positive changes could be noticed in all children, especially Zara.
One of RTP’s head coaches, Farzana, who played an integral part in the school by promoting inclusion, was able to make an important place in Zara’s heart through her kind words and friendly nature.
Farzana gave the utmost attention to Zara and ensured that she participated in all the activities taking place.
She also made Zara the leader in the games taking place, thus boosting the girl’s faltering confidence. When the children sat for the ‘Reflect-Connect and Apply’ activities, Zara tried to participate with other children and spoke in broken words.
She was applauded for her efforts by Farzana and her class fellows. The words of encouragement acted as a balm to her wounded heart.
Moreover, in a recent visit conducted by RTP’s Country Manager Iqbal Jatoi, it was observed that Zara was trying to sing rhymes with all the other children present and was actively participating in all the games taking place.
Her confidence and enthusiasm was one to marvel and all the teachers felt that Zara was ready to join mainstream education and learn all subjects being taught.
Furthermore, she had become a role model student in the school and was regular in her attendance. Her class fellows now respected her and included her in all activities taking place in school.
Her parents and siblings also noticed the positive difference in Zara and healthy changes appeared in their own attitude towards her at home.
Farzana said, “Zara simply needed an environment to be active and have room to be vocal. After years of suffering neglect, the opportunities extended to her by RTP have acted as a blessing in disguise.”
Zara is now considered as one of the most active students to take part in the ‘Red Ball Child Play Activities’ and is considered as one of the best examples of inclusion that leads towards the mainstreaming of special children to be productive citizens.

The writer is a Monitoring & Evaluation/Communications Officer at Right To Play, Provincial Office, Sindh.