Green Volunteers treat amputee kids to a fun break
July 22, 2012
Islamabad
In a heart-warming initiative, the Green Volunteers Friday welcomed a group of differently-abled children from the Children Amputee Rehabilitation Program (C-ARP) in Kashmir at Fatima Jinnah Park in F-9 for an afternoon of recreational fun and activity. The aim of the exercise was to bring a group of amputee children — victims of the October 2005 earthquake — and show them around Islamabad.
A total of eleven children and two guardians were part of the group that had arrived from Kashmir a day earlier. On Thursday the Green Volunteers — led by Rameez Mumtaz and his team — took the children to watch Madagascar at the cinema. Friday’s programme included food, cricket, football and a water fight. “We hope to make these kids have the time of their life,” said one volunteer. “They’ve led incredibly tough lives; this is our chance to play just a small part in giving back.”
On 8 October 2005, seven-year-old Mishi did not just lose her limbs, but she lost hope as well. Mishi’s mother told ‘The News’, “I have only seen amputees as beggars, begging for money and mercy only to be admonished, I was disappointed with my child’s future, C-ARP has given me hope.” Initially established to rehabilitate children amputated by the 2005 earthquake, C-ARP now strives to extend its scope beyond the earthquake-affected areas.
C-ARP Marketing & Communication Officer Neelam Nasir explained: “We’re a registered trust. We have four rehabilitation centres in Bagh, Besham, Balakot and Batgram. These kids are from Bagh,” she added.
The Green Volunteers, by contrast, is a non-profit organisation that targets various aspects of social service. From awareness campaigns to anti-wall chalking, the group has one objective: to make Pakistan what its founder Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah envisioned it to be.
The Green Volunteers came into being in the wake of the 2010 floods, during which time relief trips were made to Nowshera and Charsadda. While they still don’t have a formal headquarters, they manage to effectively campaign and coordinate their activities and drives through social networking and their active website and Facebook page.
The Green Volunteers advertised Friday’s event as ‘The earthquake shook their land, but couldn’t shake their spirit.’
The children and their guardians from Bagh were housed at the Pakistan Youth Hostel for the duration of their visit. On Friday they played cricket with the volunteers, and were treated to a magic show and storytelling.
Omar Rehman, a software engineering graduate who provided the children with an acting lesson, confessed, “To be honest, I didn’t think it would be easy to teach a group of kids how to act in the space of five to ten minutes, but you know what, the way they took to it was amazing. A bunch of them particularly enjoyed mimicking the movie they saw yesterday.”
Hassan - a sophomore at Lums - told The News he had been prompted to join the Green Volunteers after having been inspired by the group’s work ethic. “The volunteer initiative is developing,” he said. “And more importantly we try to make sure the children have a good time. The smiles on their faces say it all.”
Ishfaq, a Class 6 student and one of the children in the group, opted to have his face painted as Spiderman, and said the highlight of the trip for him was visiting the cinema and watching Madagascar. The Green Volunteers rounded the afternoon off with a water fight complete with toy guns, and the children had a brilliant time drenching each other with cold water - the perfect way to cool down and escape from the hardships and challenges these kids have otherwise become accustomed to.
In a heart-warming initiative, the Green Volunteers Friday welcomed a group of differently-abled children from the Children Amputee Rehabilitation Program (C-ARP) in Kashmir at Fatima Jinnah Park in F-9 for an afternoon of recreational fun and activity. The aim of the exercise was to bring a group of amputee children — victims of the October 2005 earthquake — and show them around Islamabad.
A total of eleven children and two guardians were part of the group that had arrived from Kashmir a day earlier. On Thursday the Green Volunteers — led by Rameez Mumtaz and his team — took the children to watch Madagascar at the cinema. Friday’s programme included food, cricket, football and a water fight. “We hope to make these kids have the time of their life,” said one volunteer. “They’ve led incredibly tough lives; this is our chance to play just a small part in giving back.”
On 8 October 2005, seven-year-old Mishi did not just lose her limbs, but she lost hope as well. Mishi’s mother told ‘The News’, “I have only seen amputees as beggars, begging for money and mercy only to be admonished, I was disappointed with my child’s future, C-ARP has given me hope.” Initially established to rehabilitate children amputated by the 2005 earthquake, C-ARP now strives to extend its scope beyond the earthquake-affected areas.
C-ARP Marketing & Communication Officer Neelam Nasir explained: “We’re a registered trust. We have four rehabilitation centres in Bagh, Besham, Balakot and Batgram. These kids are from Bagh,” she added.
The Green Volunteers, by contrast, is a non-profit organisation that targets various aspects of social service. From awareness campaigns to anti-wall chalking, the group has one objective: to make Pakistan what its founder Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah envisioned it to be.
The Green Volunteers came into being in the wake of the 2010 floods, during which time relief trips were made to Nowshera and Charsadda. While they still don’t have a formal headquarters, they manage to effectively campaign and coordinate their activities and drives through social networking and their active website and Facebook page.
The Green Volunteers advertised Friday’s event as ‘The earthquake shook their land, but couldn’t shake their spirit.’
The children and their guardians from Bagh were housed at the Pakistan Youth Hostel for the duration of their visit. On Friday they played cricket with the volunteers, and were treated to a magic show and storytelling.
Omar Rehman, a software engineering graduate who provided the children with an acting lesson, confessed, “To be honest, I didn’t think it would be easy to teach a group of kids how to act in the space of five to ten minutes, but you know what, the way they took to it was amazing. A bunch of them particularly enjoyed mimicking the movie they saw yesterday.”
Hassan - a sophomore at Lums - told The News he had been prompted to join the Green Volunteers after having been inspired by the group’s work ethic. “The volunteer initiative is developing,” he said. “And more importantly we try to make sure the children have a good time. The smiles on their faces say it all.”
Ishfaq, a Class 6 student and one of the children in the group, opted to have his face painted as Spiderman, and said the highlight of the trip for him was visiting the cinema and watching Madagascar. The Green Volunteers rounded the afternoon off with a water fight complete with toy guns, and the children had a brilliant time drenching each other with cold water - the perfect way to cool down and escape from the hardships and challenges these kids have otherwise become accustomed to.
