KARACHI: The angels in green descended on the Ida Rieu School & College for Blind & Deaf this weekend. It was Robin Hood Army’s sixth birthday, and as usual they had to celebrate like they always did by “spreading love” and bringing smiles to faces.

The funfair, or rather the ‘Grand Carnival’, was not just about distributing yummy treats among the students. But it was a big part of it nonetheless. The students showed off their talent in many ways as they indulged in a number of activities, including athletics, tug of war, martial arts, singing, tableau performances, playing popular tunes, etc. And since the RHA believes that all who participate in healthy activities are winners, the prizes and treats were distributed among all.

“Fun and food is really what got the kids here to school on a sunny Sunday,” smiled Muzna Masood, the Ida Rieu principal, while speaking to Dawn. She also praised and congratulated the students for having enthusiastically dived back into their studies and other school activities and being able to adjust so well even after having to stay away for such a long time due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “It’s the first time that the Robin Hood Army have come here and, hopefully, we will have more fun times with them in future as well,” she said.

Robin Sameer Beg, who heads the army, said that he and his volunteers, the ‘robins’, also got to spend some quality time with the students of Ida Rieu during practice and rehearsals for the carnival over the last two weeks. “Apart from arranging a grand party of the kids here, we also wanted to show how exceptionally talented they are,” he said while also thanking the teachers of Ida Rieu for working with them for the purpose.

A tableau performed on the occasion carried a hidden message of inclusiveness. It was shown how different colours were arguing about their particular importance. Green said that it is the colour of grass, blue said that it is the colour of the sky and of the seas, yellow said that it was the colour of the sun and orange argued that it was the colour of Vitamin C, etc. All the colours were fighting when the clouds and rain overheard them and showed them a rainbow, which included all colours and made them all look beautiful together.

Kicking off at 10am sharp, the carnival that happened to have two segments to it, went on till 3pm. The first segment invol­ved deaf and mute students and the second blind students. There were also stalls where besides selling handicrafts and paintings by the students one could also play interesting games as well as buy snacks.

What is Robin Hood Army

RHA, which happens to be a worldwide movement, has over the years spread to some 30 countries and 145 cities all over the world.

They have declared a war against hunger. In Pakistan, over the last six years, they are the hands that have served food to millions of people. In doing so they have also tried to eliminate wastage of food as their volunteers take surplus food from prominent restaurants and packaged food companies to distribute among the poor and hungry in poor localities and slum areas, orphanages, old people’s homes, shelters and hospitals. They are also there distributing free food in crisis situations such as floods, earthquakes or fires.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2021