Relief and Development in a Toy Store
There is a lot of joy in a toy store.
Kids smile when they are in a toy store! They love playing with the toys, searching the shelves, and spend endless hours trying to convince their parents to buy them something. I know this because I am a parent.
A toy store, by nature, produces joy.
I never saw “visit toy store” on my Middle East Project Coordinator job description. Recently, however, I did relief and development work in an Iraqi toy store.
Partners Relief & Development’s vision statement is “Free, full lives for children affected by conflict and oppression.” Our Middle East team has successfully delivered food to many communities in Iraq, Syria and Yemen. We have delivered kerosene to freezing Yazidi families in Sinjar. We have opened soup kitchens and rebuilt schools. We have done a lot of good work. But, can a child’s life be considered “free” if they are never free to play? Can a kid’s life be considered “full” if smiling is a chore? No, that is not a free and full life. These children need to play as much as they need to go to school. They need to see how high they can swing. They need to try sliding down a slide, head first. They need to race up a jungle gym. Along with food and safety and education, they need joy.
So today we shopped for big toys; slides, swings, see-saws, jungle gyms, etc. We priced each item. We studied delivery costs. We contacted installers. We even tested some of the equipment. It was fun. There was a lot of joy on our team.
And, soon, swing sets and see-saws and slides and much more will be delivered to rubble strewn cities in Iraq and Syria. We are going to deliver joy, from a toy store, to different parts of the Middle East.
It was a fun day at the office.
