Earlier this month, Sharana received 10 large cartons at the railway station- filled to the brim with Toys for children of all ages- all in good shape and ready to use. 
These were sent from The Toy Bank, an organisation that reached out to Sharana earlier this year. Sharana believes in working collaboratively by sharing knowledge and resources with other NGOs and like-minded Indian organisations, in order for the work on the field to be doubly effective- this collaboration is one such example.
Sharana like the Toy Bank believes that we must try to ensure that children have access to toys – both educational and for leisure, thereby making certain that the child’s Right to Play is not violated. We also believe that toys (among other activities) are extremely significant for the holistic development of a child.
Giving children access to free play with adequate number of toys/games aligns with Sharana’s policy of overall holistic development for our children. We strongly believe that while education and going to school remain the main objectives of several of our programs, adding value through various activities such as art, sports, book reading and games as just as irreplaceable in the overall physical and psychological growth of the children.
Also while we continue to reduce where possible distribution of material support towards the children and their families- we try to give children access to professionally planned spaces and activities in our rural and urban centres for their leisure and holistic development. This material provided by the Toy Bank will definitely help our teachers and social workers prepare more activities that support child engagement, interaction and learning for several age groups.
For most of our children from street and slums around Pondicherry and underprivileged rural backgrounds; this is the first time they have access to a large number of toys that they can choose from and use freely without inhibitions. When the children were unboxing the Toys, their reactions were precious and indescribable- “so many Toys! And all of them are for us?”
Come, let us play to learn, and play to… simply play.
