International artistes entertain SOS children

Islamabad
In keeping with the motto of SOS Villages to provide a normal and fulfilling life for their children during their years at these homes, the volunteer committee of the SOS Village in Islamabad, under the aegis of Tauqir Awan and in collaboration with the Foundation for Arts, Culture and Education (FACE) and the US embassy, organised an afternoon of song and music with international artistes.
The artistes are in town in connection with another event, the FACE ‘Music Mela.’ The function was also attended by a number of supporters of SOS; its patron, the ambassador of Austria, Brigitta Blaha and a few other diplomats and their spouses.
The programme began with a welcome speech and a brief introduction of SOS. The first performance was by Lee Ri Sook from Korea, who sang some popular children’s songs from ‘Sound of Music’ and others while playing the piano. She was followed by Mary McBride who has a powerful voice and sang a couple of songs from the golden era when you could understand and relate to the lyrics, concluding with an interactive number in which all the children joined.
The following act was by Grace MacClean who sang some contemporary numbers and she was followed by Islamabad’s very own band, ‘The Envoys,’ though only two of its members were present this time, the ambassador of Japan, Hiroshi Inomata and Bosnia & Herzegovina, Nedim Makarevic, with Allan Smith and Zeejah Fazl from Pakistan filling in for the two who were not there.
The concert concluded with some lively fusion numbers played by Maria Pamianawska from Poland and a foursome of Baluchi musicians.
At first the children sat rather quietly listening to Lee and clapping politely after each song but they became a little lively and participatory after some encouragement from the guests sitting behind them — the boys more than the girls, who were either shy or inhibited. One young lad whose name was Mahmoud — one of twin brothers — actually picked up the nerve to dance when Mary was singing and did a good job of it, much to the delight of his friends!
All the artistes deserve kudos as they made a big effort to interact with the children by addressing them directly and trying to make them participate in the singing and so do the organizers, who gave the children the rare treat of meeting artistes from abroad. It was noticed that Lee Ri Sook later sat on the floor among the girls and tried to draw them out of their reserved mood, in which she succeeded as they could be heard laughing and enjoying themselves in her company.
SOS Children’s Villages has been working with children and their families in Pakistan since 1975. They have provided permanent support in the form of health care, education and counselling to families in need. At present, there are ten SOS Children’s Villages in Pakistan and six Youth Facilities, six Hermann Gmeiner Schools, five Vocational Training Centres, five Social Centres, one Medical Centre, and two Emergency Relief programmes under the aegis of SOS.