ALKHOBAR — Read Pakistan held a gathering a follow up of their new reading initiative that hopes to promote the culture of reading books among the youth. The theme of this second session was Hope, Courage and Dream.

The event was organized under the leadership of Ahsan Mehmood Malik, President Read Pakistan, Numera Mohsin (vice president), Javeria Asad (event secretary), Zunaira Zulnoon (joint secretary) and Asad Ali Hassan (finance head)

Two books were discussed in this session Fully Charged by Tom Rath for adults and Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Dafoe for kids.

The program, hosted by Zulnoon, started with the recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an by Hafiz Areesh Ayaz. Ahsan Mehmood, introducing Read Pakistan, emphasized the need of literary skills for our youth. He encouraged the attendees to adapt the habit of book reading in their lives as it not only helps them boost their children’s vistas but also would helps them unwind. He said building libraries in government schools in Pakistan under the banner of Read Pakistan was the group’s aim.

Asad then provided a book review for “Fully Charged”. She delivered the true essence of the book to the audience and described, “life needs consistent motivation which comes from self-care.”

She encouraged the attendees to shape their life through small changes in their daily routine. She later asked club member Robina Shaheen to give her interpretation of the book.

The session then moved towards the second book review of Robinson Crusoe, which was conducted by Zulnoon. In this review she targeted the young audience and used daily life examples that complemented the true meaning of the novel.

She concluded on the note that “we all live every day but we die only once, so with the every new sunrise we get a new chance in life, so we should never give up and continue to work hard with courage and determination”.

Junior Read Ambassador Mohammad Hanzala from Pakistan International School Al Khobar gave his interpretation of the book summary and the lessons he was able to learn. Fatima Zulnoon from ISG - Dammam and Javeria Shahid from Pakistan International School gave their interpretation as well.

In this event, Read Pakistan emphasized on the psychological aspect of these two books and how to properly understand the true essence of these books. A youth empowerment session was conducted by Numera Mohsin (psychologist). This session covered the essence of both books.

In her session she elaborated that how Dream, Hope, and Courage are interconnected for assurance of success in life. She concluded her session that “how youth could stimulate their mental abilities towards achieving the state of Flow and to finally reach happiness in life.”

Kids were encouraged to bring their favorite books and review them. Among the audience members, Huzaifa from Asia international School shared his favorite book “The Mummy’s Curse - by Catherine Chambers.”

New read Ambassadors, Muzzam Irshad, Muhammad Hanzala, Abdullah bin Rashid from Pakistan International School and Raeid Hashmi from Bangladesh International School were welcomed on board by the Read Pakistan Core Team along with Saad Hashmi as an event Coordinator. — SG