TEHRAN – The Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) has dispatched volunteer teams to provide cultural services to the children residing in the underprivileged villages of the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan.

The scheme is called Peyk-e-Omid (literally meaning messenger of hope), aiming to encourage cultural activities among children who cannot afford to pay for extracurricular cultural and recreational activities, Fars reported on Friday.
Volunteer groups are sent to the villages to promote cultural activities among children and adolescents such as reading books, storytelling, as well as holding art workshops such as crafts, pottery, origami, playing group games, and screening film and animation.

Through the first phase of the scheme, some 9 villages in Sistan-Baluchestan province have been chosen to be provided with free cultural services, Mohammad Reza Zomorodian, deputy cultural director for IIDCYA said.
The teams managed to set up some small libraries in the villages for the financially struggling students, in addition to granting them stationary packages, toys and books, he added.
The scheme will be implemented across the country by the next year (starting on March 21), he concluded.
FB/MQ/MG