Quake-devastated villagers vow to rebuild community through modern education

Despite being devastated, the community of Charun Oveer celebrated Nowroz with great zeal in the local Jamat Khana. Different religious and political leaders, social workers, scholars and other individuals of surrounding areas also participated. The speakers on the occasion highlighted the historical, religious, and traditional background and importance of this day. They said the objective of celebrating the day (PATHAK) was to prepare and plan ourselves for the coming year by learning from the past year experience and trying to achieve whatever we plan today with enthusiasm and determination in the coming year. We should play our role to educate our children religiously and secularly for the development of our area. They also talked about the importance of ethical and cultural values and our traditions and to live our lives according to our unique culture. The event was made more colorful by the participation of religious Education Centre (REC) students where they performed tableaus and sung poems and local traditional songs. Lunch for the participants was arrangedby a Muslim Canadian friend. The programme ended with prayers for the prosperity of the country and that the new year may be blessed for the community. It may be noted that 95pc of the area was damaged due to the earthquake of Oct 26, 2015, and a majority of the community members have been living in shelters. But their enthusiasm and attachment to these activities was worth seeing. They have kept alive their valuable traditions and caring/sharing and voluntary service. Even in this critical situation, the community members owned such a programme and contributed their level best to make the event successful. The community is optimistic about their future and they believe that only by educating their children according to the modern parameters and by inculcating the Islamic ethical values to them, they could ensure their respectable position among the global communities.–S. Nazir Hussain Shah]]>