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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| US pulls funding from Pakistan's Sesame Street | US pulls funding from Pakistan's Sesame Street |
| (10 months later) | |
| With its frenetic stars Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, and its "letter for the day", the Sesame Street format has been a hit with children around the world for decades. | With its frenetic stars Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, and its "letter for the day", the Sesame Street format has been a hit with children around the world for decades. |
| The US government thought it was on to a winner when it gave $20m (£13m) to fund a Pakistani version of the show, hoping it would raise the country's woeful literacy rates and help turn a young generation away from the siren call of religious extremism. | The US government thought it was on to a winner when it gave $20m (£13m) to fund a Pakistani version of the show, hoping it would raise the country's woeful literacy rates and help turn a young generation away from the siren call of religious extremism. |
| But the future of Sim Sim Hamara is in doubt after the US pulled its funding amid reports that the project had become mired in corruption and mismanagement. | But the future of Sim Sim Hamara is in doubt after the US pulled its funding amid reports that the project had become mired in corruption and mismanagement. |
| The latest step in Sesame's progress towards world domination (there are dozens of similar versions tailored to local markets around the world, including Afghanistan) was a co-production between the non-profit Sesame Workshop and a venerable puppet troupe in Lahore, the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop. Although the programme first aired in December and was due to continue for at least three seasons, the US Agency for International Development confirmed on Tuesday that it had withdrawn its financial support, but declined to explain why. | The latest step in Sesame's progress towards world domination (there are dozens of similar versions tailored to local markets around the world, including Afghanistan) was a co-production between the non-profit Sesame Workshop and a venerable puppet troupe in Lahore, the Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop. Although the programme first aired in December and was due to continue for at least three seasons, the US Agency for International Development confirmed on Tuesday that it had withdrawn its financial support, but declined to explain why. |
| The newspaper Pakistan Today reported, under the headline "Elmo caught with his hand in the cookie jar!", the decision was due to "severe" financial irregularities at Rafi Peer, which allegedly used the US cash to pay off old debts and awarded lucrative contracts to relatives. | The newspaper Pakistan Today reported, under the headline "Elmo caught with his hand in the cookie jar!", the decision was due to "severe" financial irregularities at Rafi Peer, which allegedly used the US cash to pay off old debts and awarded lucrative contracts to relatives. |
| Faizaan Peerzada, the chief operating officer of Rafi Peer and one of several family members who run the organisation, denied the corruption allegations. He said the US ended its participation after providing $10m because of a lack of additional available funds. | Faizaan Peerzada, the chief operating officer of Rafi Peer and one of several family members who run the organisation, denied the corruption allegations. He said the US ended its participation after providing $10m because of a lack of additional available funds. |
| "Rafi Peer is proud of its association with the project and of the quality of children's educational television programming created within Pakistan as a result," the group said in a statement. | "Rafi Peer is proud of its association with the project and of the quality of children's educational television programming created within Pakistan as a result," the group said in a statement. |
| If the corruption allegations prove true it would be an embarrassment for the multibillion-dollar USAid programme in Pakistan, which some analysts have criticised for lacking focus and not achieving results. | If the corruption allegations prove true it would be an embarrassment for the multibillion-dollar USAid programme in Pakistan, which some analysts have criticised for lacking focus and not achieving results. |
| Rafi Peer plans to seek alternative sources of funding to continue producing Sim Sim Hamara. The show is led by Rani, a six-year-old girl who loves cricket and traditional Pakistani music. Her sidekick, Munna, is a five-year-old boy obsessed by numbers and playing Pakistani bongo drums, or tabla. | Rafi Peer plans to seek alternative sources of funding to continue producing Sim Sim Hamara. The show is led by Rani, a six-year-old girl who loves cricket and traditional Pakistani music. Her sidekick, Munna, is a five-year-old boy obsessed by numbers and playing Pakistani bongo drums, or tabla. |
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