Sim Sim Hamara

Sim Sim Hamara uses entertainment as a strategy for bringing early education to a population spanning 90 districts and 5 languages. With what are intended to be unique characters and educational messages tailored to local needs, the programme will focus on literacy, math, cognitive skills, and health in a context that promotes gender equity and social inclusion.

The locally produced series is airing weekly on national Pakistani TV in Urdu along with 4 additional languages for regional broadcast. According to organisers, the series presents familiar aspects of their lives: an environment that they know, foods they eat, celebrations that are recognisable, and characters whose antics are relatable and appealing. Live action films, which are featured in the programme's format, are one of the ways in which Sim Sim Harmara hopes to open a window into the daily lives of children from all over the country. These mini-documentaries, which are filmed in real communities and homes, explore child-friendly, educational themes. One recent episode promoted the importance of play and underscored the country's diversity by highlighting traditional games, such as a street stick ball game called gilli-danda that children play across the country. In one of the Sim Sim Hamara songs, the lyrics use the colours of the rainbow as a metaphor to celebrate unity and a sense of community. The song projects a message of hope and peace.

To further the programme's reach, the team is producing 130 radio episodes in all 5 languages. While the primary audience of the radio programme is mothers of young children, the programme will also include elements directed to children. The intention is to create a production designed for two distinct audiences, and yet to work to reach both as a seamless whole.

Sim Sim Hamara will also include 30 school fairs, 600 puppet shows, and mobile screenings in all 90 districts. For example, in March 2012, the puppets took part in Pakistan's 9th annual Folk Festival of Contemporary and Traditional Puppetry. Before an audience of 2,500 children at the Rafi Peer Cultural Center in Lahore, Rani, a Sim Sim Hamara puppet, helped inaugurate the festival by cutting a ribbon and releasing hundreds of colourful balloons into the sky. Then Rani and the rest of the Sim Sim Hamara gang spent the remainder of International Puppet Day, which marks the first day of the festival, singing the show's theme song and playing with all the children in attendance.

Early Childhood Development and Education.

According to Sesame Workshop, in a country with 65 million children under the age of 15, roughly one-third of those ages 5 to 9 are not in school. For those who do attend, dropout rates are high, especially among girls: Only 22% of Pakistani girls complete their primary education.