Boosting morale: Thalassaemia kids’ day out

Fun City amusement centre organises event for about 50 thalassaemic children.

ISLAMABAD:

In an echoing hallway, Hamza Alyas walked quietly but he led a crowd of children and parents cheering for him. They were celebrating his 16th birthday and he wore a glistening crown with blinking neon lights.

Showered in shiny confetti, the guests entered the expansive amusement complex amid a cacophony of excited chatter, blaring music and sounds emanating from gaming arcades and rides.

But it was no ordinary celebration. Like Alyas, the rest of the children were thalassaemia patients and the event was organised to boost their morale and let them forget about their health problems even if just for a day.

Fun City amusement centre organised the event for about 50 thalassaemic children from Islamabad and its outskirts, in collaboration with Thalassaemia Awareness and Prevention Pakistan (TAPP) under their “One Good Heart” initiative.

“We wanted to put smiles on the faces of these children,” said Arooj Hussain, head of the Public Outreach Programme at Fun City. She added that they had previously organised several similar activities with non-government organisations and schools over the last 13 months.

TAPP President Ayesha Abid spoke about raising awareness on the disease. “Thalassaemia affects people from all walks of life irrespective of social status, cast,” she said, underscoring the need to raise awareness and work towards prevention of the disease.



Sharing statistics, she said that there are over 10 million carriers of thalassaemia in the country where about 6,000 to 7,000 children are born with thalassaemia major each year.

The children at the event enjoyed musical chairs and squealed as they rode carousels, captain hook and magic drop rides. They also joined Alyas for cutting his birthday cake as lunch and more fun and games followed.

The 10th grader finally smiled for a picture with his family, greeted by a resounding chorus of birthday songs and claps.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2014.