When it comes to children’s programmes, there’s no shortage of choice these days. With streaming portals such as YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+, quality education through entertainment for the kids is just a click away. However, there is not enough locally produced children’s content in Pakistan to instil moral and religious values among the young.
A survey concluded that moms were struggling to find culturally relevant content for their children. They confessed that the international content impacts the dialect and language of their young ones, who are very vulnerable at this stage to the kind of content they consume.
While they accept that YouTube is now an important part of the kids learning at an early stage, they said, everything they see is not fulfilling in terms of our region’s values and Islamic teachings.
Omar and Hana, a Malaysian based production by Fadilah A. Rahmanna and directed by Ainina is a great example of an educational and musical animated series for kids that is a worldwide favourite. The show first premiered on YouTube in 2017 and is currently the fastest-growing Islamic based IP and has accumulated more than 4.4 million subscribers and 1.8 billion views.
The series revolves around Omar and Hana who are happy, curious and loving siblings. Kids are taught Islamic, moral and family values through their magical adventures and fun experiences with their parents, teachers, friends, neighbours and sometimes, famous Muslim personalities from all around the world!
In a joint collaboration between Dot Republic Media and Digital Durain, the series is now going to be released in Urdu for the Pakistani audience. The Urdu translation will be airing real soon in Pakistan on the YouTube channel as Omar and Hana Urdu.
