Toybank turns 7!!!!

Toybank celebrated its birthday with children from School on Wheels (SOW), Udaan Ghar and Community Development Centre!

Toybank partnered with Project Crayons, an NGO working to empower marginalized communities through Health, Education and Rights, to conduct a Toy Distribution event at three centres under their wing.

Toybankers come together on the 12th of August, 2011, to engage children from SOW and Udaan Ghar into fun activities and later on distributed toys to all the children!

Here is what our volunteer Lavita has to say about her experience at the event at SOW.

“On 12th August, 2011, Toybank organized a toy distribution event for the children of SOW at Ambujwadi, Malad. The children attending this event were between 4 to 11 years of age. There were 4 Toybankers along with a few volunteers from Project Crayons who interacted with the children. The event started at 11 am with the team conducting a drawing session for the children where they were taught to draw things like our national flag, house, tree, birds, etc and the children coloured it with bright colours.

This was followed by a story telling session wherein the children were told stories with morals by the volunteers. The children were very amused as the stories were told with much enthusiasm and expressions. The children also shared some nice stories with us. The whole session was very exciting and fun filled not just for the children but also the volunteers. This was finally followed by distribution of toys to the children. When the children were asked to tell their ambition in life most said that they wanted to become Doctors there were a few surprises such as Builder, Pilot & even a Policeman.

We have never realised that there is another part to Mumbai where people live in shanty homes, work hard to live a hand to mouth existence and if need be even stop the schooling of their children and make them work for the families living. Mumbai is filled with unbelievable contrasts that make it a unique and eye-opening experience. This volunteering experience has given me a chance to see the other side of this city and most of all to be around kids and see their lovely smiles and interact with the innocent little ones. When I see them smile its worth all the efforts I have put in to volunteer!”

After the toys were distributed to the children at SOW it was a wonderful thing to see all the children living nearby rushed home and immediately started playing with the toys they received. The bright smiles on the children on seen their toys made our day!

On the same day Toybankers also gathered at Udaan Ghar where we had collected lots of waste material and the girls at Udaan Ghar made nice decorative items out of them, like door garland, house, pen stands, baskets, wall hangings, purse, etc. It great to see a creative streak in many of the girls at Udaan Ghar!

Here is what our Toybanker, Jyoti Bhat has to say about the event:

“It was good to see a place where girls are, protected and sheltered and helped with education! The creativity of the inmates was absolutely splendid, it was nice to see that children really put their minds together to make creative items out of the available material - e.g. the toran, the match-box wall hanging…

Udaan ghar itself looked organized & neat place for the girls to live in. At the end of the event Toybank gave age-appropriate toys to the girls. The event was very well organized.”

At the end the children were explained how to play the board games by our volunteers. The children loved the games and said they would play these games every day in their free time!

The pics of both the events will be uploaded soon!