September 29, 1998
We care Child's play Children play with some of the donated toys at the Suan Oy Youth Centre's Toy Bank. There are a lot of children out there who are waiting to have some fun with the unwanted toys collecting dust in people's homes, says the centre director. --Picture by Somkid Chaijitvanit Your children's old and unwanted toys can bring a smile to the faces of less privileged kids through the BMA's Toy Bank programme Karnjariya Sukrung In every child's heart lies a dream - to be trapped in a toy store surrounded by toys of all kinds which they can play with to their heart's content. For the children of Bangkok's Dusit district, this dream has come true. The only difference is, the toys aren't new. But the kids diving into the pile of playthings at the Suan Oy Youth Centre don't seem to mind. At the foot of the stairs leading to the second floor of the centre, a colourful clown made of cardboard holds a placard saying "Toy Bank", welcoming young visitors to a world of fun. Behind the grinning mascot is a classroom-sized space lined with shelves on which are heaped toys of all types and colours. There are miniature cars, helicopters, trains, robots, dolls, lego houses, jigsaw puzzles, footballs, basketballs and much more. On seeing such a wondrous sight, nine-year-old Supranee's eyes shine with delight. Her friend Taksina runs to fetch some dolls from the shelves while little Supaporn jumps into a stack of stuffed animals. "I'm happiest here, it's fun," says timid Supranee Phanpitak, aged 9. "There are lots of toys, I don't know which one to play with first." Although the toys are old, unwanted things which have been donated, the children obviously do not care. After all, they would never have the chance to play with so many toys as they do at the Toy Bank. And old or new, toys are still toys to these youngsters. For the children of Dusit district, the Toy Bank has been an oasis of fun since it opened on National Children's Day, January 10, this year. "Children like to play with toys but they can't have as many as they want," says Wanvilai Promlakano, director of Dusit district and one of the initiators of the project. "I remember when I was young, I had to do lots of good deeds to ask my parents to buy me a toy," she recalls with a smile. "So why don't we have a place where children can have fun with as many toys as they like and share them with their peers." When it was first opened, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's (BMA) Suan Oy Centre only had around 50 toys on its shelves, some of which were broken. The economic crisis meant the centre's already meagre budget for buying toys, books and other recreational items was further trimmed. Meanwhile, the financial situation made it harder for local parents to find the money to buy playthings for their children. "I have four or five toys at home which I share with my sister. Our parents don't have money to buy us more," says Supranee, whose mother is a soft drink vendor and father a day labourer. "So when we want to play, we play a chasing game." Like Supranee, up to 90 percent of the 100,000 children studying at the BMA's schools come from poor families which can rarely afford to buy them good toys, says the director of Dusit district. Adds Sunisa Arunprasert, director of Suan Oy Youth Centre: "When I was young, my parents couldn't buy me any toys. My siblings and I had to work, doing household chores and farming. So seeing children happy with toys makes me happy as well. It's like my missing childhood longings are fulfilled." At the Toy Bank, children can play with any toy they like for as long as they wish. Playtime is from Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., but most kids come after school and on Saturdays. And if they can't get enough fun at the Toy Bank, they can borrow a toy and take it home. "Toys are important to children's development. They trigger their imagination and dreams. But above all, they put a smile on their young faces that can be recalled when they grow up," says Ms Sunisa. "With toys we can teach children many things. First, discipline. Every child has to learn to keep toys in their place after they finish with them." Moreover, toys can teach children a sense of sharing and having fun with others, she added. "They have to know how to play carefully because the toys aren't theirs alone. Their friends might like to play with them too at some other time. Children will learn how to make new friends and develop relationships with others." Going to the Toy Bank has also become a family matter. Many children, especially younger ones, come to the bank hand-in-hand with their parents. "We encourage parents to bring their children here to play together instead of strolling around shopping malls. Apart from having fun, they can develop a good relationship within the family," notes Ms Sunisa. Through word of mouth and media coverage, a steady supply of used toys is flowing into the playroom at Suan Oy Centre, so much so that it is nearly bursting at the seams. All donated toys are inspected by Ms Sunisa and her team. Some need to be cleaned or repaired before being put on the shelves for the kids to play with. "Donors can help us by cleaning the toys or fixing them before giving them us. That would be good because we don't have staff working specifically for the Toy Bank. So we have to do this cleaning work plus to our usual routine," says Ms Sunisa. After checking and repairing the toys, Ms Sunisa divides them into groups ready to be sent to other newly set-up toy banks in Bangkok. Since many children live far from the centre and cannot go there on their own, the Toy Bank arranges a van to pick them up and bring them to the centre. Although all seems to be going well with the Suan Oy Toy bank, Ms Sunisa still feels something important is missing. "We'd like to have people who know how to play with toys in a creative ways to benefit the children," she says. With no full-time staff, the centre is calling for volunteers to play with kids, put the toys away, and help with maintenance and repair work. "The centre's staff, including me, are perhaps too old for children to play with," Ms Sunisa says. "We'd like to have younger adults or teenagers to work as volunteers." Following the success at Suan Oy, the BMA has expanded its toy bank project to nine elementary schools in Dusit and 18 other youth centres around Bangkok. For toy banks in schools, a room or a corner of a room is set aside as a play zone. At Sukhothai School, for example, the toys are kept in a corner of the music room where children can go to play before class, during recess and after school. Bangkok governor Dr Bhichit Rattakul's next target is to set up toy banks at all of Bangkok's 26 youth centres and 431 BMA elementary schools in Bangkok. Toy banks, says the Dusit district director, are effective ways to recycle toys. "When children get older, they change toys. And the old toys are either thrown away or kept untouched, collecting dust in storage rooms. "Donating used toys gives people a way for their old toys to benefit poorer kids." To keep the children's interest, however, toy banks need a constant flow of new toys. "There will never be enough toys for the children for one simple reason: children break toys or they get bored with old ones," says Ms Wanvilai. When all BMA youth centres and schools have their toy banks in place, Ms Wanvilai says the next step is to expand toy banks to the provinces. "There are still a lot of children out there who are waiting to have the same childhood fun with toys," she says. Info for donations: Name of project: Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's Toy Banks Donation venues: BMA Youth Centres or the Bangkok District Office closest to your home Contact person: Ms Sunisa Arunprasert, Suan Oy Youth Centre, tel 243-2706, or Ms Wanvilai Promlakano, Dusit district, tel 241-3334. The Toy Banks welcome any toys, new or old, especially educational toys for the children's intellectual and emotional development. To ease the workload of the staff, please clean and repair toys before donating them. Donations in the form of money are not accepted. Volunteers are urgently needed.		Classifieds Jobs Property Entertainment Investment Education Travel Sales Learn English Weekly Database Horizons NiteOwl Student Weekly Real Time Special We Care Street Art Back Issues Last Month Archive Company Servcies Subscriptions Advertising Annual Report
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