Gogi entertains underprivileged and trauma-hit children of the twin-cities

Gogi Studios organise an event at Pakistan National Council of Arts for underprivileged school children.

ISLAMABAD:

School busses struggled to get past the security checks in the red zone on an overcast Saturday, as security officials rummaged through each school bag.

They were headed for a cartoon show for the underprivileged school children from the twin cities at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA). Gogi Studios, an organisation headed by Nigar Nazar, first lady cartoonist of Pakistan and STEER (Society for Tolerance, Environment, Education through Recreation) had joined hands to conduct the programme for Bardasht, a non-government organisation.

Senator Nilofar Bakhtiar, Chairperson Bardasht, was the chief guest, while notable personalities including the Cuban Ambassador and principals of elite schools attended the programme.

Inside the PNCA auditorium, the management was fidgeting with last minute preparations, anxiously waiting for the children to arrive, to begin the programme.

“We’re running late, this never happens. Usually its houseful, half an hour in advance. But what can one do in the kind of security situation we have here,” said a frazzled Nigar Nazar.

Without much ado, at half past eleven, they started the show. The projection screen ran clips of Nigar’s team entertaining the trauma-hit children (from the 2005 earthquake) through a puppet show, funny on the surface yet embedding meaningful messages of hope and strength.

She explained providing physical comfort to these children was not enough; their emotional side needed a special brand of attention through “trauma counselling” which is what her “Life Skills” programme is all about.

Instantly, the nervous energy took a back seat and what transpired was the playful and sprightly aura of the illustrator on stage, speaking to children in language they best understand: cartoons.

In an interactive session, she demonstrated creative ways to use numbers and the Urdu alphabet, drawing things out of them on the projector. Animations and cartoon spots played on the screen and the children responded with much enthusiasm.

The cartoon spots conveyed messages on littering, water conservation and usage of plastic bags. Moreover, she underlined the significance of education in their daily lives. More children trickled in as the hour progressed and the hall thundered with clapping and audible chuckles.

At the end, Gogi the muppet surprised the children by emerging on the scene. Clad in red and white polka-dotted shalwar kamiz, with spiky cropped hair and dramatically long lashes, the indigenous character is the company mascot.

Nigar, Gogi and Nelofar distributed school bags and stationery to over 400 underprivileged school children from the twin cities.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 21^st, 2011.