Summer camp for children in Balochi and Wakhi launched

Islamabad
To connect children with regional languages and cultures of Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan, a one-month summer camp for children in Balochi and Wakhi was launched at the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) on Monday.
The summer camp with the themes ‘Learn Balochi Language and Glimpses into Balochi Culture’ and ‘Learn Wakhi Language and the Diversity of Gilgit-Baltistan’ is being held in the beautiful surroundings of the Pakistan National Museum of Ethnology, popularly known as Heritage Museum. The camp will continue till August 25, 2015.
The objectives of the camp are to provide an orientation to the children (age 6-12 years) about the language, poetry, crafts, music and festivals of both these communities. It aims at creating ownership among children regarding Pakistan’s languages and cultural heritage. It also reaffirms our identity of being multi-cultural and pluralistic country.
In her welcoming remarks, Lok Virsa Executive Director Dr. Fouzia Saeed informed the participants that it will be a 20-day activity (Monday-Friday) with daily timings from 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. The children will be taught about the language (alphabets), culture, arts, crafts, music, festivals, sports, etc. in different periods and in an interactive and enjoyable manner. She said that the programme includes 15-day classes, a two-day interactive workshop and three-day educational visits to the reputed museums, i.e. Heritage Museum, Pakistan Monument Museum and Pakistan Museum of Natural History, she added.
Dr Fouzia further apprised that apart from informal learning of languages, the children will also be encouraged to participate in practical activities like folk singing, music, craft making, painting, etc. Folk artists, artisans, story tellers and craft experts will interact and share their experiences with them during the summer camp.
According to Lok Virsa sources, 20 children (10 in each language) are taking part in the summer camp which shows the interest of parents in transferring the knowledge to children and providing them with a flavour of Balochi and Wakhi cultures and above all, a great opportunity to learn about Pakistan’s rich, diverse and pluralistic cultural tapestry.
A 7-year-old child, Hamadan, while sharing his views with the media said, “I love Pakistan and its culture and languages. I want to learn Balochi to connect with my brothers and sisters in the Balochistan province. My father told me that Balcohi people are very noble and loving.”
Pakistan, a multi-lingual country, is enriched with more than 24 languages and dialects. These languages portray excellence of literature, poetry, folk songs, and spiritual quotes of Sufi saints and enhances the richness of our cultural heritage. Our regional languages, though distinct from each other, promote unity among people of different provinces/regions and cultivate love, respect and a firm adherence to the universal brotherhood.
In Balochistan, people speak different languages but there is a similarity in their literature, beliefs, rituals and customs. The cementing factor is religion which provides a base for unity and common social order.
Wakhi people are occasionally called Pamiris. The origin of this language is Wakhan and it is, according to many sources, more than four thousand years old. It is spoken by the inhabitants of the Wakhan Corridor in Gilgit-Baltistan, in some parts of Tajakistan and Xinjiang in western China. The language belongs to the southern group of the Pamir languages, The Wakhi live in different countries. In Gilgit-Baltistan, the Wakhi people mainly live in Gojal, Ishkoman, Darkut and Broghol.
Registration for the Virsa Summer Camp is still in progress. Interested parents can enrol their children through 9249209, 9249200 or 0300-5204755 till Monday, 3 August 2015, which is fixed as the last date for registration.