ISLAMABAD: A Winter Bazaar was held at the Shalimar Cricket Ground in F-6 on Saturday, which aimed to raise awareness about how to protect children from sexual abuse.

The event was organised by the NGO Sahil. It began at 10am and closed at 4:30pm, during which time a large number of people, including many families, visited the over 35 stalls as well as special corners that aimed to sensitise families on children’s issues.

The bazaar was divided into three sections: a children’s corner, a food corner and a corner for general items.

A lucky draw was also held, with a total of 20 prizes that were awarded to participants, including a return ticket to Dubai donated by Shahid Khaqan Abbasi before he became prime minister. Another big attraction of the day was a T20 cricket match between teams from two cellular companies.

Wajahat Ali, an Islamabad resident who was at the bazaar, said the event was a good effort to sensitise children on their safety.

“I decided to visit [the bazaar] along with my family as it was held on the weekend and included a variety of stalls where all members of the family found things of their interest. Moreover, children were also made aware of how they can protect themselves,” Mr Ali, a lawyer by profession, told Dawn.

“The T20 cricket match captured the interest of people such as myself, because of which we stayed for a long time. My family got more information and did a lot of shopping.”

Mr Ali said that it was the collective responsibility of people and the state to take steps to protect children, who will be responsible for the country’s development in the future.

The coordinator of the bazaar, Mumtaz Gohar, said Sahil has been engaged in advocacy, training and research to protect Pakistani children for over two decades.

“We decided to hold the bazaar to raise awareness about the work Sahil does on children’s protection, along with raising necessary money to continue this important work. It is quite encouraging to see that so many people visited the bazaar,” Mr Gohar said.

“As there was a games corner, children preferred to stay there. Moreover, we also arranged animated movies for children through which they learnt a lot about how they can protect themselves.”

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2017