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Annual Sports Day, with a difference
The March sun shone brightly as one walked through the entrance of the Nafisa Mai School, Dera Jatta, established and operated by the Trust for Rural Uplift and Community Education – TRUCE, on the occasion of the annual sports day recently. What came as a lovely surprise was that the school playground was surrounded with the adorable happy faces of the young and excited underprivileged children, all clad neatly in blue and white uniforms.
It was rather astounding seeing those children cheering their fellow students with all the excitement in the world as the proceedings of the Sports Day commenced. It made one wonder that despite being underprivileged these children still had a passion for sports.
The village Dera Jatta where the school is located, a small village 100 km from Rahim Yar Khan, is a perfect example of a community that has remained backward despite all the economic growth and communication network in the surrounding area. The lives of the people of this area appear to have remained unaffected by the development and progress that has taken place in the last few decades. The disappointing state of literacy and signs of gender disparities arising from the powerful tribal structures also hinders the personal development of the younger population of the village.
However, with the establishment and operation of Nafisa Mai Secondary School and Vocational Training Centre by TRUCE, one observes a light at the end of the tunnel, and a way forward for the young children. At present, a total of 231 children with a larger number of girls as compared to boys, are enrolled in the school. The parents, who would prefer to send the male child to school over their girl child, now contentedly send all their daughters to school and beam with pride on seeing their daughters do better than the boys.
The sports day began rather differently with a tribal dance by the young students along with a Dhol Wala. The boys and girls looked beautiful all dressed up for the event in their traditional dresses. The chief guest, Mr Faisal, an active member of TRUCE, inaugurated the event, and after the ribbon cutting ceremony, he was presented with a guard of honour, which was a very pleasant surprise to everyone. The way those young boys marched in line across the play ground reflected the amount of hard work and practice that had been put into the whole event by the teachers as well as the students of the school.
The children then took part in various sports like tug of war, cycle race, potato walk, sack race, musical chair, etc. The children possessed double the enthusiasm when they competed as it was probably the first time they engaged in any such sports. The races were followed by an amazing football match and the usual physical training – PT exercises by the boys and girls.
The parents clapped and hooted heartily and fully enjoyed and loved seeing their children compete and win. One could see the joy and emotions in the parent’s eyes when they saw their little ones compete and struggle towards winning. Their children, who roamed the village half naked, now looked so neat and poised. The parents saw them win and lose, but were very content with the fact that their children took part in the event and worked so hard for it. They appreciated the hard work of their children and appreciated them. It doesn’t get any better when one sees poor village children clad in tidy sports uniforms provided by the Trust, with a whole aura of discipline and decency reflected in their actions while they were at play.
Another reason why this sports day was more fun to watch was that the boys and girls did not go separate in any of the events. They went together shoulder to shoulder, competing at the same level with no feeling of one being weaker than the other and vice versa. And it was rather amusing when one observed more girls among the winners, as compared to the boys. At the end of the day, the young winners were handed out their first ever trophies and prizes. One could see the spark of achievement in their eyes and observe the way their parents were so proud of them.
The credit of this neatly organized event goes to Ms Shama Usman, Managing Trustee and Secretary, TRUCE, Mr Anwar and Mrs Mary Ann Anwar, Principal NMS along with the very hard working teachers and the students of the school. In our day to day city lives, one observes many an Annual Sports Days, but organizing an event which is meant especially for the deprived children and their families with the aim of putting a smile onto their faces is a very appreciable thought.
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