Islamabad - A group of students organised an event the other day in Rawlpindi for differently-able children.
“Building Bridges”, an initiative by young students that organised the event, aims at promoting inclusivity among children with and without special needs. Founder of the initiative, Mahnoor Hyat, along with her team of other aspiring students, arranged theinteractive art festival, “Expressing through Art” at Centre for Profound Education, a school for special needs in Rawalpindi.
“To prosper as a nation, we must stand united; to strive for a better future, importance of inclusivity must be inculcated in youth,” Hyat remarked as she was questioned on what inspired her to take up the initiative.
She laid emphasis on how we must learn to not only be open to differences but also respect and appreciate what makes each individual unique.
Hyat, with support of her team, Muqadis Jamali, Alaiha Raza, Azmeer Khan, Abdullah Salman, Noor Haider, Ayesha Siddiqa and Shanze Qazi, organised the creative endeavour early Friday morning.
A multitude of stalls and stations were set up ranging from a “Cupcake Corner” to a “Face Painting” station.
All the art supplies, including but not limited to oil pastels, water colours, paint brushes, glitter paper, crayons and poster colours were purchased from donations that had been collected prior to holding the event.
The young organisers made an attempt to accentuate the event by creating colourful canvases for children to display their art on.
Some made their way towards the colouring and painting tables where certain team members aided those who lacked hand-eye coordination by assisting them in holding their crayons and drawing shapes for the children to colour in.
As the day progressed, cupcakes were munched on, art was displayed on walls, and emotions were expressed in innumerable ways.
“We are so thankful that we were given the opportunity to take part in this initiative. It really opened our eyes to the reality of this world and how sometimes we forget to be grateful for all we have been blessed with,” relayed Salman.
It was due to their efforts and the impact this act of kindness made on the students that the Principal of the school presented the team with a gift as a token of gratitude.
The present was a mug with the school’s slogan drawn on it, packed in a box on which the children had scribbled their names; thus making the gift a personalised one.
Having organised the event, the students now intend to make such interactions manifold and then make strides for inclusivity of special needs children in Pakistani schools.