The power of play

Four of us on the floor, cheering as we made triple-word scores, groaning every time we picked a 'X' tile, and fighting over fabricated words... those were Thursday afternoons with the cousins; playing Scrabble, or coating the floor with powder and sliding from one end of the room to the other. We probably didn't know it then, but somewhere along, we must have enhanced our vocabulary, learnt to resolve minor conflicts, and earned a few bruises (from sliding). Memories happy childhood days come flooding back as Mitali Pinto talks about ToyBank, "an organisation that promotes kids' right to play with the aim of addressing holistic development needs in children through games and toys, with a focus on board games".

'It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men'; with that as their motto, ToyBank has set up around 277 game libraries and play centres, in collaboration with NGOs, community-based organisations, and civic schools, in Maharashtra. It works with kids between 2 to 16 years from various backgrounds, including orphans; kids with disabilities, speech and hearing impairment; victims of abuse; kids from shelter homes; and from government schools. While urban and rural Mumbai is the main focus, the organisation has set up volunteer-driven game libraries and play centres across Maharashtra and also has chapters in Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Bhutan.

Before a game library is set up at a centre, ToyBank conducts a pre-assessment to understand the status and needs of the kids. "We have a toy distribution event, when we set up the game library and each child is given a toy that they can take home," says Pinto. While some toys are procured through collection drives, others are bought. Toys that come in through donations are checked, sterilised if needed, coded (SPBANG—Strategic, Puzzles, Blocks, Alphabetical, Numerical and General) and then sent to these centres, where based on a pre-determined timetable, the kids have ToyBank sessions. "Our field officers lead and monitor these game sessions, starting off with an ice-breaker (usually theme-based activities) to get everyone in the mood, then moving on to board games," she explains. Kids are divided into groups depending on the number of players required and are encouraged to finish one game before they move to the next.

Games like Monopoly and Vyapar helps them learn about money and managing it better, as well as basic Maths. Scrabble, on the other hand, will teach vocabulary. "They're able to understand things better," says Shweta Chari, Chief Toybanker."The child can learn basic calculus through a simple game called Calculus. Rapid Calculation is another game that teaches the kids basic Arithmetic," she adds, while "puzzles and Hoppers will get the kids to think analytically and strategically".The games are curated depending on the kind of children they're working with. "We don't collect toys that promote violence, lifestyle toys like Barbie, nor incomplete and broken toys," adds Pinto. Games that have rules written in multiple languages—Hindi, Marathi, English, Urdu—are also preferred.

So what are the benefits of play? In 2014, ToyBank conducted a study in partnership with Apnalaya, where a sample number of children were assessed based on five international play therapy indicators—motor, fine motor, emotional, social and language skills. Three months down the line, they were assessed again on the same parameters and "we found that confidence levels rose, the best of emotions—anger, frustration, joy—were brought out, and creativity and logical reasoning increased," says Pinto. They also noticed a reduction in dropout rates and increased enrolment in schools, because to attend that one play session at the end of the day, the child had to attend the whole day of school. "The children are happier, they're less stressed, and have improved in their schoolwork. We have kids who are HIV positive, those rescued from red-light areas, as well as slum children, but boundaries are broken through these ToyBank sessions; they learn teamwork and guide each other," says Hanif Shaikh, Head of Education at Snehalaya, Ahmednagar.

In addition to working with almost 38,000 underprivileged kids, ToyBank also works with teachers through Power of Play workshops.