“It is a day of happiness for me as a platform has been provided for our children and youth to come forward and bridge differences in society. Now it is up to our children and youth to learn from the opportunities provided by Right To Play and pave the way for a better and healthy future” said Mumtaz Umar, Professor of Government Degree College Korangi 6, who is also a social worker and a poet. He was speaking as chief guest at the celebration of “Cultural Day for Dialogue and Development 2013”.
The mentioned day was celebrated under the theme of “Play Day” was to provide an opportunity for the children of government schools, teachers and community members to gather on a common platform and discuss topics of cultural diversity and peace in the country.
The celebration witnessed the presence of 60 children and 140 local youth, 17 trainers from Right To Play/Karachi Youth Initiative (KYI) project, 15 community members and three partner school head Masters, mistresses and teachers.
The event commenced with the recitation of the Holy Quran followed by an insight into Right To Play’s programme in the country by the trainers. A naat Competition followed shortly keeping in mind the essence of the holy month of Ramadan. The participants were thrilled by the competition and in order to keep their attention focused, an energiser session titled “I have got a ball” in which the community youth participated wholeheartedly.
Witnessing the high spirits of the participants, a motivating speech competition followed in which Hiba, a junior leader of Right To Play from Government Girls Secondary School Nasir Colony Korangi 1 spoke poignantly for a peaceful Pakistan where people could breathe and live freely. Amidst huge rounds of applause the event moved forward with the trainers, youth of the community and Right To Play project supervisor performing a role play “I am not alone” which underlined the importance of team-work, respect and brotherhood, which were the key values of the programme.
It is important to mention here that Right To Play is a global organisation that used the transformative power of play to educate and empower children facing adversity.
