The right to play

Five-year-old Hennock wants to be a pilot. “A pilot in a helicopter,” he says. “I want to go anywhere I like. I want to take my friends to the countryside!”
 
It’s an ambitious goal for a little boy who lives in one of the poorest countries on earth.

A place where 36 million people are struggling to survive – a place where most children are denied their right to play because they need to fetch water, tend to crops or care for their siblings.

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The way of play

It’s always a great satisfaction when the hard work of communities pays off and yields inspiring results. With support from Plan Vietnam, about 110 parents and their 130 children in Dak Rong, a remote mountainous district of Quang Tri, have successfully set up playgroups for children under 3 years old in 7 communes. 

As preschools in the district could only provide services for less than 5% of children under 3, Plan rolled out a pilot project to test the waters.

A total of 21 preschool teachers and community volunteers have now become promoters of Plan’s early childhood care and development (ECCD) work, which supports the physical and emotional development of children. They were trained on group facilitation skills and how to organise activities suitable for different age groups. The project has also provided groups with toys, posters and hygiene accessories. 

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Learning while playing

11-year-old Queen Gae loves listening to the stories that her mothers reads aloud at a child-friendly space (CFS) in Julita, Leyte, a province in the eastern part of the Philippines.

Queen’s mother, Elsie, is a CFS facilitator and uses interactive activities like singing, dancing and storytelling to keep children interested and to engage with one another.

 

Plan implements child-friendly spaces after a disaster to provide affected children with a safe space to play and receive emotional support and care.

 

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Playing for a brighter future

Young children who attend preschools and are encouraged to play and sing are more confident and often perform better academically, socially and emotionally than their classmates.

However, in rural China, many parents and caregivers emphasize book learning and do not know of the benefits of early stimulation and development.
Plan China has worked in places like Yuyang district in central China to raise awareness about and develop programmes in early childhood learning.

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Discovering the power of play

It took Typhoon Haiyan just a few hours to wash away schools and books. Yet, teachers and daycare workers in Eastern Samar, Philippines, are helping children reclaim their right to education in a crafty kind of way...

“Friendly House” in Llorente, Eastern Samar, is a hive of activity. Banana leaf snakes, brightly coloured skittles made from plastic bottles and pretty paper flowers are strewn across the table as an excited group of locals put the finishing touches on their cool creations.

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The best start in life: child development at heart of the community

There’s been radical change for A-Muoi and his wife, Nhung, in their home in Cu Tài village in A-Bung commune, central Vietnam. A parent-led playgroup for children's development is having a major impact on parenting habits, influencing everything from family roles and nutrition, to hygiene and communications.

“I’m busy all day in the rice field, but now, when I have time, I make toys for my children. I feel so relaxed and happy,” says A-Muoi, a 41-year-old father of 2.

When A-Muoi is at home making toys, his wife teaches Vietnamese songs to their children to improve their language skills.

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Playing

The focus of August is going to be about playing, having fun. Because playing is an important part of being a child and since it is the summer more children are out playing. So this month is about being positive!

So go out and play!

Playing hard and dreaming big in Ethiopia

5-year-old Hennock wants to be a pilot when he grows up. “I want to go anywhere I like,” he said. “I want to take my friends to the countryside!”

It’s an ambitious goal for a little boy who lives in one of the poorest countries in the world. Ethiopia is a country where 36 million people are struggling to survive, and a place where most children are denied their right to participate in school. Instead, they spend their time fetching water, tending to crops or caring for their siblings at home.

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Too close for comfort: Living on the edge in Vietnam

Playing shouldn’t be a game of risk for kids, and going to school shouldn’t put children’s lives in danger. Yet, that was a daily reality for one community in Vietnam.

In the mountainous community of Hoang Su Phi, young children make their way to this kindergarten facility every day. The problem is, their outdoor play area rests on the edge of a cliff that’s way too close for comfort.

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Before she's ready for motherhood

Ayatollah is only 15 years old as she talks about her marriage to an old man that she has always had known as her neighbor. This is her story.

"I loved going to school and playing with my friends, but when my father said that girls do not need to go to school, I found myself herding cattle from sunrise to sunset as well as performing other household chores," says Ayatollah.

"One day, when I was playing outside, my father accompanied by an old man who is a contractor and our next door neighbor, came over to me and warned me to stop playing like a child as I had reached an age suitable for marriage."

"Two days later and to my disbelief, my mother told me that my father had married me off to the same old man in order to save the family from poverty," she recalls.

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