Project Inside Out highlights slum children’s struggles

Campaign hopes to promote stories of kids, inspire them to pursue alternate futures

KARACHI: In Pakistan MMA is fighting in and outside the ring.

‘Heroes for a Day’ campaign, in collaboration with the Project Inside Out, aims to highlight the struggles of slum children in Lahore and the work of the MMA Academy in addressing them.

The Inside Out campaign is highlighting the power of mixed martial arts and how it can change the community. For the children of Lahore’s Charar Pind — where most residents are domestic labourers — MMA is an opportunity for an alternative future.

Merging art and sport, Shaheen Academy, along with Project Inside Out, led by Pakistan’s first female MMA trainer Sarah Tareen held the “Heroes for a Day” event for the disadvantaged children of Charar Pind to celebrate their resilience.

“This is why I started the entire Pakistani MMA project,” Pakistan’s most celebrated Mixed Martial Arts fighter Bashir Ahmed tells The Express Tribune.

Ahmed believes MMA is means of keeping children away from drugs and crime.

How do children respond to it? “It really depends on the kid,” said Bashir. “For some kids, it becomes their life, others would rather play another sport and that is fine. However it is tragic when there are no other options. In Charrar Pind you have the gym, the dusty park to play cricket or drugs and crime.”

Ahmed has witnessed success stories as well: “Abu Bakr is the man. He went from being the son of a cleaner with an ambiguous future to someone who may change the lives of the future generations for his family and lift them out of poverty.”

“This is where we hope to inspire and motivate kids and teens to be the best version of themselves as role models and leaders, hoping to use the power of martial arts to change the lives of the poor and disadvantaged kids of Charar Pind. Some come from poor but stable homes, while too many others have dismal lives,” says Ahmed.

“We are martial artists. One of the key characteristics of a martial artist is to stand up for injustice. To protect those who are weak. If you do not make this a part of your identity, if you do not remind your fellow martial artists of the duty, if you do not teach this to your students, then you are not a martial artist. As martial artists, we need to start speaking out; we need to start putting our time, resources and hearts into helping the societies and communities we live in,” added Ahmed.



Speaking about the Project, Sarah explained that the Inside Out portraits of kids celebrate the young fighters and their resilience. The massive portraits on the boundary wall, overlooking the gated suburbs against the sun set, send out a strong message that heroes can emerge from anywhere — even the slums of Charar Pind.

Speaking about the spirit of these young children Sarah adds: “I noticed their resilience. They were ready to take a hit without any fear. Later I saw them laughing in a dusty wasteland outside the gym. The children living in these dwellings are survivors and are fearless.”

The campaign hopes to make the struggles of the slum children known and promote reintegration of these children into society through community-based rehabilitation projects.

“Reintegration requires community-based rehabilitation projects, which enable children to access education, address the trauma and psychological effects and to create opportunities. The campaign aims to reach a wide audience and start the debate that is necessary on this issue,” concluded Sarah.

Sarah is currently directing the documentary “Kids Fight” produced by UpNorth Film, following the lives of children in Charar Pind and how mixed martial arts might be the very fight for their lives. Each Inside Out group action around the world is documented, archived and exhibited online. Over 260,000 people have participated in it from 129 countries.