Low Cost Creative Play for Vulnerable Children

JANUARY 2008 — A new book helps teachers and caregivers engage children in creative play as they make indoor games and handicrafts from commonly found recycled materials. Produced in partnership with Catholic AIDS Action and other organizations in Namibia, It Costs Almost Nothing features 52 projects that can be made from discarded materials, making it possible for even very poor children to benefit. The book is designed for use with children roughly ages 3 to 10.

One of the book's authors, MaryBeth Gallagher, is a volunteer who works with children at Bernhard Nordkamp Centre, a multipurpose center run by Catholic AIDS Action in Katutura. Riding her bicycle through town, Gallagher often noticed bottles, tins, and other rubbish littering the roads. She began devising clever ways to recycle these discarded objects to create games for children at the center.

Attending a workshop conducted by MaryBeth, Lucy Steinitz of Family Health International saw value in what she was doing. Eventually, the women teamed up with Marie Harlech-Jones, another volunteer who was also using recycled items and rubbish for arts and crafts with children. They collaborated to create the book. The finished product includes traditional Namibian games as well as adaptations of games from throughout the world. None of the games or projects require special equipment or take up a lot of space.

Gallagher emphasizes that play is particularly important for children facing difficult circumstances. Often orphans and other vulnerable children—including those affected by HIV/AIDS—do not get the chance to simply enjoy being kids because they are too busy caring for siblings or sick parents. Gallagher says playing games and creating art projects allows them to forget their troubles for a while.

Play also helps children develop problem solving and communication skills, hones their ability to interact socially with peers, and improves their coordination, says Marlene Magunda, Namibia's minister of gender equality and child welfare. Depending on the game, it can also increase children's knowledge of colors, words, logic, geography, and mathematics. 

"Kids everywhere love this book," Lucy Steinitz says. "There is a tremendous sense of accomplishment and learning that comes from making the crafts and playing the games. The book can't replace a teacher, of course, but children in preschool and afterschool settings learn so much by working cooperatively together. It's amazing."

Gallagher is now traveling around Namibia, teaching afterschool staff and preprimary school teachers about how to use the book in their own settings.

It Costs Almost Nothing can also be used in early childhood centers, art classes, or even at home. The full text is available at the link above. The book may be excerpted or copied and distributed without profit, provided the source is fully acknowledged.

Publication of It Costs Almost Nothing was supported by Namibia's Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, PACT-Namibia, the US Agency for International Development, the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, FHI, Catholic AIDS Action, and the Church Alliance for Orphans (CAFO).

PHOTO: These girls are wearing "Giants' Feet" created through an activity featured in the book. The oversized paper feet were traced from an adult's feet. The children enjoy having races with their big feet, or just trying to walk with them. (MaryBeth Gallagher)