Karachi
The Circle: Caring for Children – an organisation providing treatment to children suffering from autism, speech and hearing impairment and learning disabilities through therapy, OT and learning at play – was the scene of the merriest of singing and musical games for children under the able guidance of musician Khalid Anum, who strummed on the guitar while the children sang with all the gusto and enthusiasm.
As is characteristic of children, they were a merry, chirpy and friendly lot and seemed to be really happy in each other’s company, even though they came from different homes and backgrounds.
The children, around 50 of them, were all under the age of eight. While most were accompanied by their mothers, a few dads also came along with their little ones, while children from SOS Village were accompanied by their caregivers.
The first song they sang was “Dil, Dil, Pakistan”. While Khalid Anum was the lead singer and played the guitar, all the children joined in and, surprisingly, they all knew the whole lyrics. They made an angelic chorus, and their sweet, angelic voices resounded all over the place.
Next came “Old MacDonald had a farm” with Khalid Anum singing in his deep baritone voice and the children accompanying him, complete with the sounds of farm animals.
“Dil, Dil, Pakistan” was first sung by all the children and then later as a kind of a competition between the boys and the girls. First, it was the girls who sang and then the boys, and it was the girls who won.
There was also another Urdu nursery rhyme which is actually meant to teach math to the children, titled “Das thi batkhein pani mein” (10 ducks in the water), whereby children learn what happens when two of them fly away and how many are left behind. This is an ideal way of brushing up the children’s arithmetic skills.
The children seemed to feel so at home. What was most remarkable was the patience on the part of the teachers as for the children there was no scolding, only love.
Sadaf Shahid, the CEO of The Circle (TC), talking to The News, said that while the affluent parents paid for therapy and other treatments, The Circle also provided free therapy to children from under privileged backgrounds, including children from SOS Village.
This was through sponsorships or donations from philanthropic people. Where no sponsorship was available, TC itself provided therapy free of charge.
Sadaf Shahid said TC regularly arranges interactive talks by leading authorities on how parents should cope with children suffering from autism and various other impairments and disabilities.
This was the first time that a sing-along and storytelling event was organised for the children. Given the amount of fun the children – and parents and therapists – had, TC would definitely do it again too.
At the end, at the request of the ‘grown-ups’ – the therapists and parents – Khalid Anum gave a solo and sang his most famous number, ‘Peera Ho’, a Punjabi/Seraiki folk song. The programme ended to resounding applause by both the tiny tots and grown-ups alike for Khalid Anum who did an absolutely fabulous job.
