RTP Story Book - Right To Play International To Play... · The interesting stories you will ﬁnd...

Rays of HopeSmall is BeautifulGirl Rising The Multiplier Effect – Right To Play in GGPS Mirpur Khas Sparing the StickAn Equal Playing FieldTurning a Drop into an Ocean / Cementing the Impact The Transformation of a School BullyIgniting Hope for Better Future A Portrait of Courage Of Aspirations and HopeStarting Early, Setting Things Right The First StepA Diamond in the RoughBringing Change… One Book at a Time The Trail BlazerThe Pull Factor Making a Difference - Overview of Right To Play’s Sindh Program

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Our MissionRight To Play’s mission is to

use sport and play to educate and empower children and

youth to overcome the effects of poverty, conflict and disease in disadvantaged communities.

Our PhilosophyLOOK AFTER YOURSELF,

LOOK AFTER ONE ANOTHER

Our VisionRight To Play’s vision is to create a healthy and safe world through the power

of support and play.

Right To Play Values:WE CARE: We care for children and communi-ties We look after ourselves and look after one another

WE COMMIT: We stay true to ourselves We act with honesty and integrity We keep our promises

WE DO: We share a can-do attitude We create opportunities where none exist We work hard to make an impact

WE PLAY: We have fun and are playful in everything we do We take a moment to smile and laugh

WE ARE A TEAM: Diverse, yet supportive; aligned, not divisive Most of these stories are collected by Amima Sayeed

by visiting Right To Play partner schools in Sindh. Amima conducted several interviews with children, Junior Leaders, parents, teachers and community members. Amima Sayeed is a Senior Manager at Teachers’ Resource Centre where she is engaged in ECCE advocacy and research.

Right To Play Pakistan dedicates this publication to the memories of our dearest colleague, Durray Sadaf, who passed away in Feberuary 2014.

Durray Sadaf remained an integral part of Right To Play Pakistan team for over 2 years in her role as Communication & Advocacy Officer in Karachi. She documented inspiring stories about Right To Play’s program activities in the field and her contribution in projecting the program in media

will always be remembered. Some of her stories are also included in this publication. Right To Play team is together with her family in this moment of grief over the loss of this wonderful soul.

Right To Play Pakistan offers regular sport and play programing to over 170,000 children and youth in pakistan. We have trained over 400 local youth as coaches and organized summer camps, sport tournaments and Play Days for children and youth in schools and community.

Right To Play’s Life Skills Development project in Sindh started in 2011 in this context of flooding and heavy rains, primarily under the emergency education. The program started implementing regular activities in 300 partner schools in 7 districts of Sindh. Currently the program is being implemented in 5 districts of Sindh, working in 200 schools that have been termed as Child Friendly schools. Total outreach is expected to be 45-50,000 children, around 85% girls. The impact stories you are about to read are about Right To Play's activities in Sindh.

So far through successful programming, Right To Play has able to increase the confidence level of children in schools, especially girls, reduced violence and bullying in schools, provided greater access to sport and play facilities for children and youth, and built essential life skills among children.

The interesting stories you will find in this document, account to all the great work Right To Play staff, coaches and volunteers are doing in the field. These stories also reflect how this unique program is changing behaviors and transforming lives in our communities and thereby causing a social change. The real life heroes in these stories and the change they are bringing in their own lives and those of people in their environment further strengthen our resolve that, ‘When Children Play the Word Wins.

In 2013, the services and achievements of Right To Play founder and President, Johann Olav Koss, were further recognized when he received two prestigious prizes. In April 2013, Johann was awarded with LEGO prize. “Johann Koss is awarded the LEGO prize as recognition of the tremendous impact he has had on children’s lives through his organization, Right To Play,” says the Chairman of the LEGO foundation in Denmark. Also in March 2013, Johann received the Henry R Kravis prize in leadership. Johann Olav Koss is one of the greatest winter athlete and a leading social entrepreneur. The four-time Olympic Gold Medalist made world headlines when he won three Gold Medals at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics in Norway.Johann founded Right To Play in 2000 and has since led the organization as its President and CEO. He is considered as the pioneer in the field of Sport for Development. His dynamic and inspirational figure is instrumental in making Right To Play the leading Sport for Development organization in the world.

The recently concluded Sochi Olympics marked the 20th anniversary of Johann’s heroics at Lillehammer. To mark the occasion, we introduced Right To Play Nation (RTPNation), a community of Right To Play supporters who believe that play can transform a child’s life. RTPNation is made up of one million children and the thousands of volunteer Coaches who lead our play-based educational programs in more than 20 countries worldwide and reaching 1 million children globally.

Johann Olav Koss

www.righttoplay.com 0706

Rays of Hope

those and develop. She discussed her ideas with her husband who was doubtful that any good would come out of her efforts, but yet she did not deter. She initially tried to raise awareness in people by going house to house and doing community mobilization. Her efforts were not appreciated and at times she was turned away harshly.Not letting her failing efforts bring her down, she enlisted the help of the village Imam and an old lady who used to teach the Holy Quran to the children and sought their support of requesting parents to send their children to school.Slowly, her repeated efforts of reaching out to parents in the community paid off and parents agreed to send their children to learn. With the help of the community members the government school building was transformed into usable condition and shortly 30 girls joined.As time passed, Arbab tried imparting as much knowledge as she could to the children but faltered in places as she herself had only basic education. But with the passage of time, and luck favoring their way, Right To Play in partnership with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) commenced their interven-tions in the district of Dadu and reached out to their school. Through Red Ball Child Play activities conducted by well-trained Coaches of Right To Play, positive behav-ioral changes could be seen in children resulting in more active involvement in school and higher rates of enrollment. Parents too appreciated the changes being brought about in their children’s behaviour.It was also noticed that due to the interventions of

the organization, behavioral changes were not limited to children only but positively affected the elders as well. Arbab cited her own example and shared that due to Right To Play she received an opportunity to learn things she had no clue about earlier and received an opportunity to attend RBCP, ECP and Child Protection Trainings which taught her the importance of ‘inclusion’, child rights and the impor-tance of sports in child development.One activity that she conducted in the school was ‘organized basket’ which resulted in groups of children from different backgrounds coming together and playing in harmony while forgetting their differ-ences. Arbab feels content when she sees that she has been able to make a difference in her students’ lives by using the knowledge she has gained through trainings. Supporting her contribution, Tasneem Chana, a Teacher of Class 7 at the school said “after the interventions of Right To Play in our school, our children have become more active and confident. Earlier they used to be very quiet and reserved. Also, differences have melted away between the children.”On a personal front, Arbab said that she has become more patient with her children and her young son Waqar, aged five also accompanies her to school. There, through observation he has also learnt numer-ous games and tries to replicate them at home. Moreover, her children have started to understand the message behind the games and hence, positive development has been witnessed. Arbab says she truly believes that the power of sports and play does work miracles.

“Earlier I used the stick to discipline children but since I learnt of the importance of Child Rights through trainings imparted by Right To Play Pakistan, I stopped beating children” were the words of Arbab Khatoon, the Head Teacher at Government Girls Primary School and Government Girls Middle School, Laung Pauja, district Dadu.Arbab has been considered by her peers as one of the most dedicated teachers of the school and been associated with it for the longest duration. Her involvement with the school stemmed from 1999 when she had come to the village of Laung Puaja as a young bride.After settling down in the village, she received an

opportunity to meet many of her neighbours and learnt to her dismay that a majority of them were illiterate. Since she herself was a Matriculate gradu-ate, she was considered to be well educated and the thought of her community members not considering education to be important for their children was quite disappointing to her.Arbab also learnt through her interaction with her community members that there was a government school building present in the village but was not being utilized for any purpose. She felt that if aware-ness was raised in the people of Laung Pauja regard-ing the necessity of education, then classes could be started in the school and village children could attend

RTP Coach leading a play based activity in a school

Transforming Lives through Play

By Durray Sadaf


Until a year back, Shahzmina was a shy and timid girl. Let alone participating in activities, she didn’t even attend school regularly. For she was self-conscious and shy because of her petite body especially her right hand which was smaller than her left one. Owing to obvious difference in her physical features, Shahzmina felt left out and feared being singled out and mocked. Her frequent absence from class resulted in RTP Coach, Almas, inquiring about Shahzmina. Through several discussions with her parents, they finally agreed to push Shahzmina to come to the school. And thus began the journey of transformation – through engaging her in play activities and gradually giving her the responsibilities,

the RTP Coach strived to build Shahzmina’s confi-dence in her own self. In school, Shahzmina was given no time to brood over her obvious difference and disability as she was asked to take up the duties of a Junior Leader. Within days, Shahzmina stopped hiding her right hand under the scarf and started using it in the 6-Balls activities she had to engage her class-mates in. With RTP Coach bucking her up, Shahzmina soon realized that her classmates and school fellows at large just wanted to have fun, never to make fun of her. And though she’s small and so is her hand, she is perfectly capable of making school and learning a fun experience.

Small is BeautifulShahzmina is hardly 3 ft. tall, enrolled in Class 2, leads dozens of young girls of senior classes as she is the Junior Leader in Government Girls Elemen-tary Haji Abdul Ghani School in Thatta. She takes charge of her own class in the absence of teachers and also participates actively in school’s curricular and play activities. This is the Shahzmina you will meet today. When her teachers and fellow students vouch for a magical transformation in Shahzmina ever since Right To Play activities are introduced in the school, you cannot stop wonder-ing why and how such a change has come about.

Shahzmina, a Junior Leader of second grade from Thatta



Girl Rising Having been born and brought up in an urban part of Thatta in an educated family, Sidra Armeen is not new to training or education. Her mother is the head teacher of a government secondary school while Sidra has also taught in a private school for several years before quitting it when a dear colleague of hers died suddenly. She stayed at home for couple of years until her mother convinced her to interview for a training organized by Right To Play on Youth As Leaders – an experience Sidra calls “life changing.” In the last 8 months since her training finished, Sidra has done things which were unimaginable for her and anybody who knew her. With her study group, she has conducted voluntary training for women teachers in three schools of Thatta, she planned and partici-pated in a street theatre to raise awareness about children’s rights, and she didn’t falter when she was asked to ride a truck and go around Thatta city as part of the awareness campaign.

From a person who did not want to come to the training venue unaccompanied, Sidra has become a fearless activist who is willing to carry on the mission making most of the available resources. She attrib-utes the change in her life choices to YAL training and trainers. Sidra sums up her key learnings in three points – first, women need to do more than just fulfilling household responsibilities; second, act and do something worthwhile for the community; and third, do not fear people and what they may say, focus should always be on one’s own goal.

Sidra thinks her journey is far from over, she has to fight many demons within and outside before she can feel accomplished but she knows she is on the right path.

The Multiplier Effect Right To Play in GGPS Mirpur Khas There is a phrase in Urdu, Ek akela dou gyara, roughly translated as one person is single, two can be an army thus referring to the power of unity and collec-tive action. The primary school located in outskirts of Mirpur Khas, namely GGPS Mirpur Khas Old is a living testimony of this. It is just short of being miraculous in the educational landscape of Sindh or for that matter, Pakistan: an active parents’ committee comprising mothers, efficient teachers using activity based teaching and learning methodologies, active participation of all students, and most importantly, school being converted into a child safe zone.

Parents and teachers have been inspired by a training organized by Right To Play program team in their school which focused particularly on Child Protection and Safety. In their own words, “despite being located in a close-knit hamlet, the school was an unsafe place for girl children”. There was no toilet and water facility hence students would walk to their homes to use the toilet. Some children whose homes were far away would relieve themselves in a dark alley behind the school. They had no realization such practices put their children at risk. Through the support of RTP team, the school teachers mobilized parents and School Management Committee members to build the school into a safer place. Fixing and refurbishing drinking water and toilet facilities became their first priority but the efforts did not stop there – teachers organized awareness sessions on personal hygiene, rights of children, importance of play and activities

for their mental and physical growth for the parents. While there are tangible changes in the built and learning environment of school and homes, especially with hand-made dust bins placed everywhere, there are intangible yet immense changes in the attitudes too. When parents were inquired about their children as they would move to secondary school where such initiatives may have not been taken place, they were ready to create alternatives – a play club in the community, mobilization of SMC, lobbying for exten-sion of RTP programme in other schools, and organiz-ing voluntary awareness raising sessions on Child Protection for secondary school teachers, to name a few. There is no stopping the collective action for greater good of their children. Thank you Right To Play, is what the parents and teachers say in unison.

Right To Play Coaches during a walk at universal children day in Thatta

School Teachers in Mirpur Khas



came to be etched on the children’s faces even while they came outside to play and participate in sports and games.The breaking point came when, during a celebration taking place in the school, a young girl was caught in the act of stealing some money from a teacher’s purse. In order to teach the child a lesson which she would never forget, the headmistress brought the child on stage and gave her such a thrashing that the poor child fainted with the pain and shock.The rest of the children were made to line up in front of the stage and watch this horrific act. It seemed that the teachers too, were enjoying the treatment being meted out to the child.Asma felt nauseous looking at the horrific scenario and decided that she could not keep quiet anymore.She quietly started counselling the women of her community regarding the evils of corporal punish-ment and explained to them the benefits of dealing with children in a friendly manner. She told them that beating children and taunting them would not necessarily discipline; rather, it would make them retaliate in anger. Her initial efforts were not met well by the people who were apprehensive about why a young woman would come to their doorstep to tell them how to bring up their children. Yet, she did not lose hope and attended a training session on Child Rights and Gender Protection.During the training, she learnt more about the rights of children. Keeping the findings in mind, Asma then renewed her work of mobilizing the community and now managed to make some headway. She gained the confidence of her community elders who supported her in passing on the message of children’s

rights to the parents of her students.Once the parents realized that the norms which they thought were acceptable were actually barbaric and that being beaten and taunted in school on a regular basis was hampering their child’s emotional well-being, they started to change their outlook. Now they were on Asma’s side and she was happy to have made a breakthrough on the personal front; now she had to handle the schoolIn school, Asma tactfully shared her experience at the Child Rights and Gender Protection training during an informal conversation with her headmistress. She also told her that training was being held for all headmistresses of government schools in the district. She praised her headmistress for being a strong leader and encouraged her to attend this training to network with others; this tactful approach worked and the lady made it a point to attend a training session herself. The training compelled her to reflect upon her behaviour with children and the negative practices taking place at her school, which she had allowed for so long.After the training concluded she returned to her school and imparted a stern lecture to all her teach-ers, forbidding them from either beating the students or screaming at them.The changes in the school were visible in a month’s time and during a monitoring visit, officers got to interact with happy, confident and bright children.Happy as the children are, perhaps it is Asma who is the happiest of them all.

Sparing the StickWhen Asma Parveen, a young teacher, joined the Government Girls’ Primary School in Molvi Khair Mohd, district Sanghar, she was appalled by the school’s flagrant use of corporal punishment as a disciplinary device.

Worse still, beating a child was not used as a last resort for serious transgressions; in fact, Asma saw children being punished for things as minor as talking in the class, asking innocent questions or simply day dreaming. Over time, a look of fright and misery

Girls participating in RTP’s play based activity in Thatta


By Durray Sadaf


Sharing and togetherness, however, didn’t come the easy way to the super six, as revealed by the Right To Play Coach, Ambreen Naz. Since the girls belonged to conservative families of different religious beliefs, there were many misgivings and biases inculcated in them. They were not alone; most students did not want to interact with children other than those belonging to their own community or religious group. Ambreen recalls that when she first introduced the Right To Play activities and asked them to hold the hand of a child standing next to them, many simply refused because that child belonged to a lower caste or another religion. For next several weeks, Ambreen only focused on Blue Ball activities that aim to promote peace and harmony. Over weeks she noticed a gradual change in attitudes – fading reluc-tance, embracing diversity. The strong bonds

between Poonam and her group of friends is indeed a much needed outcome.

The deeply entrenched societal inequalities and discriminations may not have been eliminated completely by Right To Play programme and its implementers in Mirpur Khas, Sindh. However, it is certain that the super six group of Junior Leaders have learned to rise above the pettiness associated with labels of cast, creed and religion. For they love another identity – of Junior Leaders, through which they have discovered an equal playing field for themselves. Many more groups of Junior Leaders together can be the champions of bringing social justice and equality in Pakistan. The hope is alive.

An Equal Playing FieldMeet Pooja Nanak Ram, Poonam Mohan, Noor Sakina, Savera, Aarti and Romila Davis – in addition to their bright eyes and beautiful smiles, they have another thing in common – they are the super six Junior Leaders studying in GGPS Mirwah Gorchani, Mirpur Khas. Brimming with excitement, the girls enthu-siastically talk about what they do as Junior Leaders and why they find it so unique – for starters, they work alongside their teacher, which they didn’t experience otherwise. Then, they get to lead a whole class, they love the different games and learning activities they have learned about as much as they love conducting coaching sessions during summer camps. They share all the new things they have learned with their siblings and parents, and also play with them as many games at home as they can. From left to right (Poonam, Aarti, Savera, Noor Sakina, Romila Davis, Pooja)



Turning a Drop into an Ocean / Cementing the Impact The puzzle of how to take the programme to scale and deepen its impact has been cracked by Right To Play team in Thatta. Treading the unusual path of forming alliance with District Cricket Association (DCA) of Thatta, RTP has met many important mile-stones of sports promotion and development in most marginalized areas of the district. It started with an occasional invitation to an event being organized by RTP and graduated to conducting a joint cricket tournament, there’s no looking back from that point onwards. The DCA representatives, enthusiastic to share their views and vision for Thatta, claim that the number of local Cricket teams in Thatta have now increased four times, from 8 teams to a strong and active 32 teams. Cricket of course has always been a popular sport amongst youth but what has changed through DCA and RTP partnership takes it beyond a pastime – first, new talent is emerging and with patronage from influential community members, they are able to provide an organized platform to hone and showcase the new talent. DCA is initiating regular cricket coaching sessions as well. An equally significant change occurring is in the attitude of parents and community members. Playing cricket is increasingly being seen as a serious career option, something which was unimaginable in Thatta. A general aware-ness is created about how playing cricket at District level can be connected with income generation and

secure employment.DCA along with Sports District Officer, Mushtaq Khushk credit Right To Play for reinvigorating interest in sports and play not just amongst boys, but girls too. Infrastructural support to schools for developing playgrounds, providing equipment and gear for a range of sports and technical guidance by RTP has ensured that sport is seen as a serious business. They are certain that the Reflect, Connect and Apply approach towards sport will draw more children and youth towards playing good sports. Their conviction is not baseless….after all, there is something exciting about having a girls’ cricket and basketball team emerging from the remote villages of Jati!

Kids participating in RTP’s play based activity in Thatta



Reflect-Connect-Apply (RCA) sessions she was able to inculcate in them confidence, team-building and elements of respect. She was happy to see all the children contentedly participate in activities but was worried when she saw one particular child standing apart from the others disinterested in activities going on around her.The child in question was Saba Naz who would remain sullen and unresponsive. She would bully her class fellows when they would assemble to play Red Ball Child Play games and snatch the ball away so that games would stall. She would constantly remain in a foul mood causing people to steer clear of her path, and the unfortunate ones who came in the way would result in getting a thrashing. Whenever Shagufta would try and intervene, she would chase her down the ground with the aim of scaring her off.The teachers of the school were at their wits end at failing to control her appalling behaviour but Shagufta felt that there were more pieces remaining to solve the complex behaviour of Saba. She scouted the neighborhood around the school and spoke with the community members of the village. She learnt from various sources that Saba was the daughter of a poor labourer and lived in a joint family set-up. She was suffering from mental disorder and had physical problems which her parents could not understand and consequently, she was often beaten or scolded at home. Her siblings too taunted and made fun of her thus, causing the girl to grasp onto her anger and hurt causing her to become a disturbed child. The information gleaned gave her a better perspec-

tive on the situation and she felt that the girl required proper attention and care. From that day forth, Shagufta doubled her efforts in reaching out to her and tried drawing her into Red Ball Child Play games and her repeated efforts and special attention paid off. But the ultimate change occurred when she announced that Saba Naz would be a Junior Leader and her decision worked positively.Initially, when Saba learnt that she was chosen to be a Junior Leader she was hesitant about her role, but as soon as she started accepting her duties and with the right support from children and teachers, she started to get confident and comfortable. Positive changes could be witnessed in her behaviour as she started to come to school regularly, took keen inter-est in health and hygiene sessions and made sure that her fellow students did not litter in the school. She also took active part in conducting group meet-ings with her Head Coach Shagufta, and led Baz-me-Adab celebrations in her school. Her good rapport with children gained her many friends and she ultimately transformed into a friendly, cheerful person from the sullen and angry young girlUpon seeing these changes, a delighted Shagufta shared “initially when I came to this school as a Head Coach, my Head Mistress was not very pleased with the notion. But now when she has seen remarkable changes taking place in the behaviour of the children in school especially Saba Naz, she agrees that Right To Play truly makes a difference in a child’s life by developing the correct skills required for their devel-opment.”

The Transformation of a School BullyUnruly locks, stormy eyes, an angry and distraught face was the common view bystanders often saw of a tall fifteen year old girl loitering around shops and neighbouring homes surrounding Government Girls Primary School, Chak 05, district Sanghar, Pakistan.The girl was Saba Naz, a student of grade six at the stated school and she stood apart from others due to her wild behaviour. But unfortunately, the teachers and fellow students could not understand her disturbed behaviour resulting in the girl becoming hostile over a period of time.The situation would have gone unchecked had Right To Play not made inroads in the district and taken

Government Girls Primary School Chak 05 School under its fold. Right To Play utilized the expertise of local community volunteers who were developed as Coaches to drive activities leading to community growth.One such volunteer of the program, Shagufta Amin was assigned to engage children in sports and play based activities at GGPS Chak 05. When she joined the school as a Head Coach, she noticed the children to be shy, withdrawn and scared of indulging in discussions with their teachers but with time, through Red Ball Child Play (RBCP) games and

RTP’s female Coach leading RCA session in Sanghar


By Durray Sadaf


running Katchi (pre-primary) class shifted her class to community center of the village. However, by May 2013, the project was over and so was the provision of community teacher leaving the only primary school of the village dysfunctional.

When the appointed Right To Play Coach, Naseema Kunbhar, first visited GGPS Janhero Sharif, RTP team came to know about the history and current condi-tion of the school. The idea of replacing the school with another functional one seemed uninspiring to the team and unfair for the hundreds of girls who did not have any access to education. Naseema spear-headed the efforts to make the school functional. Over next three months, Naseema engaged in community meetings discussing the importance of

school education and rights of the children. Through interacting with the community, she also figured out that contrary to widespread belief, the school was not haunted and the student’s death was due to her illness and no medical attention received. Simultane-ously, Right To Play team also liaised with District officials of the Education Department, Umerkot to ensure teacher deployment in the school.

Against all the odds, Naseema persisted and eventu-ally succeeded in making the school functional. Through her efforts, she safeguarded the future of hundreds of girls who otherwise would have stayed illiterate or uneducated.

Government Girls Primary School, Janhero Sharif, situated along Kunri road near Umerkot town was not operational since March 2013. Majority of parents preferred their children working with them on fields or roaming around in the village rather than studying

in a haunted school, a popular belief held by the villagers after a student was found dead on school premises. Following the drift, the only government teacher appointed for the school stopped coming to school while the community teacher appointed for

Igniting Hope for Better Future

Happy faces from Umerkot

Kids getting ready for play based activity


the entire village because of her maturity, confidence and determination.

Professionally, sense of purposefulness and success is directly infused by working with her students. Ambreen takes pride in identifying four physically disabled children in the community and convincing their families to send them to school. At school, she not only created a disabled-friendly environment through arranging for wheelchairs and making ramps for increased mobility; Ambreen also spent extra time to bond with these children so they can be at peace with themselves and others around them. Ambreen

attributes her understanding to the Right To Play’s training and blue ball activities helped other children as well as teachers embrace diversity and disability. Three of those students have completed primary education and moved to secondary schools. However, this transition has left Ambreen a little anxious as there is no RTP in the secondary school they are attending. She feels that RTP should be made a mandatory feature in all schools, be it public or private, primary or secondary. She is convinced that RTP is the best vehicle to develop collegiality and critical thinking skills amongst children.

A Portrait of Courage “A life changing experience’ is how Ambreen Naz defines her experience of working with Right To Play. She is the Coach in Mirwah Gorchani Primary School, Mirpur Khas and has been associated with Right To Play for two years now. Thinking about what resulted in life changing experience, Ambreen credits the initial training received under RTP. The trainers, according to her, walked the talk – if they were talking about how important it was to encourage students, they demonstrated it in the training as well. It was the first time Ambreen experi-enced undivided attention, encourage-ment and the confidence to express herself. That’s the experience she wants every child to enjoy because she thinks it will change their very take on life, the way it has for her in both personal and professional worlds. Ambreen has continued her education and is currently enrolled in Masters’ programme. One of her major achieve-ments is to be able to financially and emotionally support her seven siblings and mother after her father passed away. She is considered a role model by


Girls enjoying the RTP’s play based activity




Of Aspirations and HopeAs the sweltering heat of the sun bears down the land of Sarvech Nagar, villagers are seen trudging on the narrow paths leading to the outskirts of the village where they toil as daily wage workers. Their daily commute to neighbouring villages and market places leads them through fields of sunflowers and water stretches with water buffalos bathing in them. The scenic picture looks straight out of a picture book, yet it manages to camouflage the difficult realities of life that these people face.But in spite of the challenges present in the villagers’ lives, there are some who go against the odds and carve out niche for themselves at a tender young age. One such person is a young boy named Asadullah

who has been orphaned at a young age and belongs to Sarvech Sujawali Nagar.Belonging to a poor family and living in a village which is quite backward in its approach and deprived of basic facilities, Asadullah literally has to go an extra mile just to derive education. He daily commutes a distance of 2 kilometers by walking, as there is no transportation available and attends the Government Main Sindhi Primary School Sujawal, Chandia, Thatta, Pakistan. The prime reason for his attending a school in another village is that the school present in his own village is non-functioning with teachers being absent most of the time.At present, a student of class 5 at GPS Sujawal,

Asadullah has grown in leaps and bounds after Right To Play’s program commenced at his school. Right To Play commenced their interventions in the district’s selected schools since January 2011.Subsequently, it has been witnessed that through their sports and play based methodology, capacities of young children have been developed and talent honed giving them an opportunity to come forward and serve as Junior Leaders.The Junior Leader concept at Right To Play is a fairly unique one, as it offers children the opportunity to gain essential leadership skills so that they can become active participants in their communities. And out of the numerous Junior Leaders in the program, Asadullah is the one leading the way at his school.He assists his Head Coaches and Teachers in conduct-ing play based activities at his school and provides necessary support to other teachers by visiting different schools and engaging children belonging to senior classes in play based sessions. In fact, his sessions are so interactive that he manages to draw teachers into participating along with their students.Being trained in the Red Ball Child Play Resource of the organization, he is aware of the concept of the 5 balls of the organization and the themes they cover. He strongly feels that if children participate actively in games falling under Red Ball, their minds will develop and they will become more active in studies, while for maintaining physical fitness they should participate in Black Ball activities.He has noticed changes within himself due to the program and comes to school regularly while earlier

he would avoid coming to school making various excuses. Earlier, he would play games with his friends simply for the sake of playing and would get involved in squabbles to show his supremacy, but now after understanding the concept behind the activities, he does not fight with anyone, but explains the impor-tance of team-work, respect and harmony. He simply feels that ‘if we take care of each other, others will take care of us.’Asadullah also feels that he has received many opportunities to learn about new concepts through this program and has gotten exposure to different events such as Global Hand Washing Day, Cultural Day and Polio Day. He has appreciated the fact that this program does not judge children on their back-grounds and status and treats everyone equally.On a personal front, after becoming a Junior Leader, Asadullah has been able to teach his family on important issues of health, hygiene and cleanliness. He candidly says “my mother used to fetch water from the river for cooking purpose, but since I learnt that the water is not clean and can cause diseases, I told my mother to use clean water from the hand pump. Since then, she gets water from the hand pump for cleaning, cooking and washing.”He further adds that “earlier I was very shy and nervous and could not talk in front of anyone, but now I can confidently say that even if you put me on stage in front of hundreds of people, I would be able to confidently address them. And I feel all this has happened due to Right To Play teaching us about values of respect, belief and confidence.”

Girls enjoying the RTP’s play based activity

By Durray Sadaf



Starting Early, Setting Things Right The most critical years for children’s holistic develop-ment are the Early Childhood Years (0-5 yrs). Brain development is rapid during early years when children get a caring and stimulating environment where they feel confident to explore, inquire, bond, and most importantly feel valued enough to express themselves. Unfortunately for Pakistan, early child-hood and care is the most neglected area not just in education but society at large. Kauser Banglani, a three year old enrolled in Katchi (pre-primary) in GGPS, suffered the same fate not unlike so many other children of her age in rural Sindh. When Right To Play started its activities in Kauser’s school, teachers informed the RTP Coach that she has severe disability as she could not talk. If she needed anything in classroom, she would point towards it. On the other hand, teachers put her in the category of slow learner.

Keeping to RTP’s mandate, the Coach focused on including all the children in learning and play activi-ties. Since Kauser Banglani was known as a recluse with no speech, special efforts were made to include her in play activities. Over a period of time, Kauser’s enthusiasm became visible and she even began to volunteer for different activities. Her teachers informed the RTP Coach that her classroom participa-tion has also improved. But that was not all that changed. One day during a warm up quiz, RTP Coach asked children about the colour of mind ball. “Red,” came the reply from none other than Kauser. It was the first time that anyone heard Kauser, first time Kauser felt safe and confident to speak in front of her classmates and coach. It wasn’t Kauser who was disabled, it was the school environment. Thankfully Right To Play changed the equation at a very early stage.

The First StepBhavna is 8 years old. Teachers of GGPS Police Lines in Umerkot, share that Bhavna is with them for many years now. Still in Grade 1 as she has not been able to go beyond reading alphabets and small words. Understandably so as it can be spotted from a mile that Bhavna is a moderate case of cerebral palsy. Her parents sent her to school because they did not know what to do with her at home. And at school, teachers tried to handle her to the best of their knowledge and ability. They also tried to control other children from teasing Bhavna, but to little effect. Typically, after reaching school Bhavna was escorted to a classroom and would spend the whole day sitting there until the school time was over. During recess when there was no teacher in the class, other children would come to see her like she was a zoo animal. Many children did not hesitate from making fun of her and telling her how she’ll never be like them. Silent tears would roll down Bhavna’s face, deepening her isolation and sense of depravation. That was then. There has been a dramatic change in Bhavna’s life since Right To Play came to her school. Two things became the priority for RTP team – creating empathy amongst school students and making Bhavna’s stay in school as comfortable as it can. On the first count, several sessions with students along with red and blue ball activities were conducted to develop their sense of empathy and responsibility. Over time, students became friendly towards Bhavna, stopped teasing her and let her in their play circles. The RTP Coach along with RTP’s Umerkot team and teachers devised a lot of activities

that would give Bhavna a real chance to participate. From the group of Junior Leaders, two Junior Leaders were asked by the Coach to help, support and guide Bhavna during activities and also in classroom. However, Bhavna’s mobility was still limited because of her physical condition. Through contacting local medical professionals and seeking support from hospitals, Right To Play team arranged for a wheel chair for her. With the wheel chair, she is able to come to the playground and join her new friends in the recess time. Bhavna has distinct special needs, all of which may not be catered by Right To Play. However, RTP could set the taboos aside and create opportunities for Bhavna’s social integration. That battle has been won!

A girl ready to participate in RTP’s play based activity.



In a small but hustling market located some 45 kilometers to the south-west Karachi Road, resides a middle-class family like many others. The family comprises of six daughters, two brothers and an old father who makes ends meet by working in a local mill. But what sets the family apart from others is that one girl from the family has stood out like a diamond in the rough by going against odds and studying MA.The girl in question is Shah Bibi Panhwar, aged 25 who has fought cultural barriers and gone against social norms to make a place of respect for herself in the society.Initially, when Right to Play district office Thatta commenced work in the district and was looking for youth for their ‘Youth As Leader’ training, word was spread out in the community by the program’s Head Coaches. Shah Bibi too learnt of the same from the community and was encouraged by her friends to attend the training. With hope in her heart and a spring in her steps, Shah Bibi attended the four day training organized at the district office of Right To Play in Thatta where she proved that girls can rise to the top provided they are given equal opportunities as men. On the last day of her training, her group was assigned a Social Cohesion Project in which she was the coordinator of the project. Through her excellent leadership skills and hard work, she and her team proved themselves by running a Coaching Center in her village free of cost. She now teaches at the Center.

Shah Bibi candidly shared after the training com-pleted that “being a youth, I think we can achieve a lot if we want too, but we also require a correct platform where we can showcase our talent and skills.” She further added that the youth of the country had never received opportunities earlier but due to Right To Play’s program in the district, the approach to local youth became very impressive and motivational leading towards positive transformation in their lives. She now feels that the platform provided by Right To Play will help increase peoples life skills and enable them to take new initiatives that will help others. Furthermore, she shares that “after receiving the training, I have become more confident and can communicate well with everyone. I have become more responsible and involved with the youth. I believe that I would not have been able to teach children but this training has instilled in me the belief that I can reach up to the stars and benefit the children of my village by bringing an educational change in them.”A notable person from the community commented that Shah Bibi has taken a great initiative for the promotion of education in the village; and he hopes that she will continue her efforts and become a role model for others in the community. Shah Bibi cheerfully salutes Right To Play for playing an important role in her life and making her the person she is today.

Boys participating in human knot activity.

By Durray Sadaf

A Diamond in the Rough


Bringing Change… One Book at a Time Having acquired two masters’ degrees, Rizwaan Ali Brohi is convinced that if anything can change, it is through education and intellectual poverty allevia-tion. He thinks it is the love for learning that pushes one to self-improvement, and nothing can help better than books to explore the possibilities. This convic-tion led Rizwaan to set up a Community Library as part of the Youth As Leader training carried out by Right To Play programme. Bringing together a few likeminded people, Rizwaan and his friends pooled their financial resources together to rent out a space and organize books. Initially they utilized a government school for setting up the library however, they saw that women were not accessing the library, and males were restricted because of its location. Therefore they decided to move the set up in a more accessible place. Over a period of eight months, the membership base has grown so strong that Rizwaan is able to pay off the rent from membership fee and also stock more books. Currently, a range of books on history, philoso-phy, poetry religion, politics, etc is available in the library along with magazines, communications, practical guides for CSS students, and publications by NGOs. For Rizwaan, intellectual awareness is critical for progressing as a people. He quotes the example of a regular visitor in his library, a station master, who only reads Shah Abdul Latif’s penned poetry in “Shah Jo Risalo.” Poetry written hundreds of years back has created an understanding about today’s world. It is transcending into other worlds through books that

fuels Rizwaan’s ambitions of opening a library in every Union Council of Thatta. He is also trying to bridge the gap between people and literature by bringing writers and intellectuals to the public space – he is in the process of developing partnership with Sindhi Writers’ Guild that will be a useful step in this direction.

Girls enjoying skipping at school in Thatta


In the last two and a half years, Hina has been transformed into a charming and charismatic leader, and this is exactly what has drawn hundreds of female students towards her. There are scores of students who want to be like her for she has accom-plished it all – despite the financial issues, Hina continued her education, she is currently studying for her masters’ degree. From a meek girl, she has attained an iconic status in her immediate and distant family as she is the first female in her entire town going abroad and that too, without a male guardian. Hina was nominated by Right To Play to join a group of 8 young male and female leaders to represent Pakistan at youth camp organized by United Nations in collaboration with Right To Play tournament in Tokyo this year. That is another testimonial of her steep learning curve – she’s consistently demonstrated initiative and a passion to achieve excellence. Is she nervous about the trip? Of course she is – not because she would be

travelling outside of Sindh for the first time but because she wants to bring accolades for her team Pakistan. It has not been smooth sailing for Hina. Her father would not even trust her to go to a playground adjacent to her school. With her utmost commitment and dedication, she has won the trust of her father and that of her students too. She is able to convince scores of parents to let their daughters play, learn through play and have excellence is their pursuit. Hina’s positive and dynamic outlook commands confidence and trust. Parents are willing to send students even to another district for training programmes and tournaments as long as they are accompanied by Hina. She is hopeful that once parents see the changes in their daughters through the experiential training of Right To Play, there will be many more Hinas born, who will have the courage to take on all the challenges that life throws at them and turn them into opportunities.

The Trail BlazerHina Rasheed Araien is the Right To Play Coach with RTP Mir Pur Khas team since 2011. It was mainly familial reasons that Hina joined the RTP programme, she had to support the family as her father got paralyzed. Hina and her sister stepped up to fulfill the economic needs of the family. She had just completed her intermediate when she took the job of Right To Play Coach. What was an economic lifeline became a life changing experience for Hina. By her own admission, the time period spent as RTP Coach has been the most dynamic and rewarding experience of her life personally and professionally.

RTP’s Coach Hina Rasheed leading an activity in Mirpur Khas




The Pull Factor One of the major outcomes of Right To Play programmes running in Sindh government schools are an ever increasing interest of students in attend-ing schools. This is not only visible in their level of participation in different play and learning activities, but more importantly, through decreasing school drop outs, reduced absenteeism and re-enrollments in the schools.

Teachers, Right To Play Coaches and Junior Leaders, whoever gets a chance to share why they are excited about RTP in their school, have just one story to share – it is fun, educative and they have learned a lot in the process. Fizza, a student of grade 5, feels love and cared for in the school after RTP programme and of course the RTP Coach started working in her school GGPS Badh Goth in Mirpur Khas. She says, “I didn’t want to come to school and would be absent most of the week. Teachers were strict always asking us to

copy work in the notebooks. But I felt it did not make any difference to me or to the school if I am at the school.” Fizza still remembers the first time her school’s head coach visited her house to ask about her health and reasons for absenteeism, she couldn’t believe that someone was concerned about her. Though she was not convinced enough, she decided to go to school and see what has changed. To her utter surprise, there were games, joint sessions, learning activities; Fizza to attend the school for the entire week as she was sure all the activities will only last that long. She decided to continue for another week and then another. She laughs heartily and says she would not miss school for anything – it has become an exciting fun place, she has friends, she leads her class as Junior Leader and feels valued.

learning both interactive and fun thus, capturing children’s diverted attention and drawn them back willingly towards learning and growth.

Our programmatic interventions in Sindh have taken place in over 300 Child Friendly Schools and 12 Transitional School Structures catered to approximately 50,000 children through regular play-based learning sessions in schools, enhanced the capacities of Coaches and groomed 493 Junior Leaders. Around 80% of the children reached in our program our girls and we believe in the capacity develop-ment of government school teachers and Head teachers.

To date, we have trained 596 teachers in various resources of Right To Play like Active Learning Method-ologies, Positive Disciplining, Gender and Child Rights, School Leadership. We have also brought commu-nities together by holding 14 thematic Play Days, 10 Intra/Inter School Tournaments and 10 Summer Camps for children and given opportunities to female community members to come forward and participate equally in the events.

Both external and internal evaluations of the program have documented the following impact of the program:

• Children happily attend school and there is improved co-existence between them• Children demonstrate better self-esteem, cooperation and improved team work• Improved health & hygiene practices are present among school children • Children, especially Junior Leaders are proactive in taking initiatives• Promotion of sports for girls. Girls are receiving opportunities to come forward and participate in Inter/Intra school tournaments• There is more awareness in children regarding personal hygiene and cleanliness and more civic sense in the youth• There are indications of improved academic performance of students, due to active learning methodologies• Positive sports experiences contribute to the process of inclusion by brining individuals from various social and economic backgrounds in shared interest and activities• Now policy makers have started taking a keen interest in our program

With development of important life skills in children of respect, cooperation, empathy, team work, children have become more confident in their approach and enjoy a comfortable relationship with their teachers and peers.

The United Nations recognizes that play is the right of every child and should not be considered a luxury. Rather, it should be used as a tool for promoting education and health and empower children facing adversity and challenges.

At Right To Play, we believe that the power of play can transform a child’s life for the better and hence, use sport and play to help children build essential life skills and promote better futures while driving social change in communities with lasting impact. At present, we are working in more than 20 countries engaging girls, persons with disabilities, street children, and providing conflict resolution in troubled communities.

Our journey in Pakistan began in 2008 and subsequent years saw us growing from strength to strength and running programs as far as Mardan in the north to southern districts in Sindh and supporting children and youth affected by the devastating floods of 2010.

Our program in 7 districts of Sindh has trained community volunteers who serve as Coaches and young children with strong leadership skills working as Junior Leaders and take our program a notch ahead in their respective schools and communities. Moreover, our resources of Red Ball Child Play, Team-Up, Sport Specific have made

Making a Difference Overview of Right To Play’s Sindh Program

A group of students participating in RTP’s play based activity


learning both interactive and fun thus, capturing children’s diverted attention and drawn them back willingly towards learning and growth.

Our programmatic interventions in Sindh have taken place in over 300 Child Friendly Schools and 12 Transitional School Structures catered to approximately 50,000 children through regular play-based learning sessions in schools, enhanced the capacities of Coaches and groomed 493 Junior Leaders. Around 80% of the children reached in our program our girls and we believe in the capacity develop-ment of government school teachers and Head teachers.

To date, we have trained 596 teachers in various resources of Right To Play like Active Learning Method-ologies, Positive Disciplining, Gender and Child Rights, School Leadership. We have also brought commu-nities together by holding 14 thematic Play Days, 10 Intra/Inter School Tournaments and 10 Summer Camps for children and given opportunities to female community members to come forward and participate equally in the events.

Both external and internal evaluations of the program have documented the following impact of the program:

• Children happily attend school and there is improved co-existence between them• Children demonstrate better self-esteem, cooperation and improved team work• Improved health & hygiene practices are present among school children • Children, especially Junior Leaders are proactive in taking initiatives• Promotion of sports for girls. Girls are receiving opportunities to come forward and participate in Inter/Intra school tournaments• There is more awareness in children regarding personal hygiene and cleanliness and more civic sense in the youth• There are indications of improved academic performance of students, due to active learning methodologies• Positive sports experiences contribute to the process of inclusion by brining individuals from various social and economic backgrounds in shared interest and activities• Now policy makers have started taking a keen interest in our program

With development of important life skills in children of respect, cooperation, empathy, team work, children have become more confident in their approach and enjoy a comfortable relationship with their teachers and peers.

36

The United Nations recognizes that play is the right of every child and should not be considered a luxury. Rather, it should be used as a tool for promoting education and health and empower children facing adversity and challenges.

At Right To Play, we believe that the power of play can transform a child’s life for the better and hence, use sport and play to help children build essential life skills and promote better futures while driving social change in communities with lasting impact. At present, we are working in more than 20 countries engaging girls, persons with disabilities, street children, and providing conflict resolution in troubled communities.

Our journey in Pakistan began in 2008 and subsequent years saw us growing from strength to strength and running programs as far as Mardan in the north to southern districts in Sindh and supporting children and youth affected by the devastating floods of 2010.

Our program in 7 districts of Sindh has trained community volunteers who serve as Coaches and young children with strong leadership skills working as Junior Leaders and take our program a notch ahead in their respective schools and communities. Moreover, our resources of Red Ball Child Play, Team-Up, Sport Specific have made

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