ACCORDING to the UNDP, nearly 29 per cent of Pakistan’s population is between 15 and 29 years of age. This constitutes the youth bulge. It is to be attributed to our very high population growth rate of 2.55pc. In demographic terms, ours is a young country. There was a time when the youth bulge was celebrated as an asset that would change our destiny. That never happened. Today, the youth bulge has emerged as a challenge.

Paradoxically, those who spoke so highly of the youth failed to realise that every child who is born has inherent rights and it is the absolute duty of their parents, the state and society to fulfil these rights. The six million new arrivals in Pakistan every year need love, security, nutrition, healthcare and quality education if they are to grow up to be the youth who will transform the nation. On the contrary, many of them suffer from child abuse and the consequences of the follies of the adults who control their lives.

Can a neglected child grow up to be a talented and resourceful youth?

The dilemma of the youth emerged clearly at the certificate distribution ceremony at the conclusion of the Community Architect Training Programme conducted by the Urban Resource Centre in Karachi last week. Salma Hasan, an elegant TV artist, spoke about the entertainment opportunities that existed in the city for young people. What emerged from the discourse that afternoon was that smartphones and television plays dominate the entertainment of the youth as parks and playgrounds are fast disappearing.

Sports, games and physical exercise can work wonders.

It is important to first be clear about what comprises healthy entertainment. Ask any doctor and he will shake his head in disapproval if you mention smartphones. With so much scepticism being expressed about these gadgets, wouldn’t it be wiser to keep them out of the entertainment area? Wouldn’t it be best to stick to conventional forms of entertainment that do no harm? In fact, sports and games exercise the body as much as the mind. They enable the youth to participate in an activity rather than be relegated to the status of onlookers. Indoor and mind games, debates, elocution contests, music and the performing arts were also popular and had their own benefits in days of yore. But physical exercise has to be prioritised.

In this context, schools and colleges had an important role to play. Youth not enrolled in educational institutions could play in public playgrounds and open plots or even on the roads without fear of being run over. Not anymore. Now the elite have their fancy clubs and gyms where they buy entertainment of their choice. As for the class which cannot afford a smartphone for every family member, the youth still look for open spaces for their makeshift cricket and football grounds. Only the lucky ones find one. Playgrounds should be the authorities’ first priority for all.

Sports, games and physical exercise, especially if they are properly regulated, can work wonders for the youth, even academically. Two projects, undertaken separately by two brothers, could serve as models for others to improve the lives of the youth. One is the Coach Emad Football Academy, founded in 2018 by Azfar and Atia Naqvi in memory of their young son who ended his own life. Coach Emad, as he was called, had a dream. He would open a football academy once he was fully qualified.

He is no more, but his parents have translated his dream into reality. CEFA is what any football fan would aspire to. It has four coaches for 400 Lyari children, including 25 girls. They could well be of world class, given the inspiration they receive from Coach Emad’s huge portr­ait keeping an eye on them in the stadium.

The second proj­e­­ct I would recomm­end is the one undertaken by Dr Asghar Naqvi at the Happy Dale School in Nazimabad. Dr Naqvi has adopted nine government schools in Karachi. Many of these Peela schools of long-standing have expansive grounds, which are as neglected as the schools themselves.

Happy Dale is Naqvi’s alma mater, and he says he is repaying the debt he owes the institution. He admits that he has, regrettably, failed to get the staff to mend its ways and enrolment has declined. But the grounds are promising. He is getting trees planted and plans to convert the open space into courts for games and athletics. There is a ground for girls as well. Once ready, he will hire coaches and others, and open the grounds to the youth of the area, including young sportsmen and sportswomen. That will be a good service he will be rendering to the youth. Above all, this will also save the grounds from the land grabbers.

It is now for Karachiites to save not just the city but also the youth from unhealthy entertainment.

www.zubeida-mustafa.com

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2024