Making toys

A line of stuffed animals—a fish, butterfly, and penguin—march across a classroom table. Like the discarded sandals, cans and bottles that parents have used to make this colourful menagerie, the toys will soon find a new home and purpose.

These toys are the product of a toy-making competition that drew participants from four villages in the Tân Sơn district of Vietnam’s northern province Phú Thọ last year. Parents and grandparents of students who attend preschools in these areas constructed the toys from locally available recycled and natural materials.

Participants from four villages crafted toys from local recycled materials including sandals, cars and bottles. MCC photo/Lê Đắc Phúc

The initiative is part of the work of Mennonite Central Committee’s (MCC) partner Tân Sơn People’s Committee (TSPC). The group supports early education projects in rural villages such as Thanh, Đồng Dò, Bòng and Dìa, helping to prepare preschoolers and their families for primary school.

Prior to the contest, teachers explained to parents and grandparents how to create toys their young children can play with at school or home. A panel of judges advanced winning teams from each village to a championship round. The Đồng Dò Village team was named the overall winner with their toy flowers, houses and instruments. All the villages’ preschool students received uniform jackets.

Preschoolers from Đồng Dò and Thanh villages sport their new uniform jackets given to them at an MCC-sponsored toy-making competition in Tân Sơn District, Phú Thọ Province in Vietnam. MCC photo/Lê Đắc Phúc

Involving parents, increasing child nutrition, equipping teachers and sponsoring events like the toy competition improve the well-being of the community, said Eva B. Mazharenko, an MCC representative for Vietnam with her husband, Nikolai. They are from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Many families in Tân Sơn are impoverished and rely on subsistence farming to support their families, Mazharenko said. During a busy season of farming or gathering, parents may not have the time to support their children beyond their basic needs. An older sibling or elderly family member may be tasked with watching the children, or in some cases, the children may be left alone at home.

Local preschools are a safe alternative for children ages three to five, a period in which nutrition and early literacy are crucial to a child’s healthy development. At the preschools that MCC supports, “the focus is on the children, their safety, their well-being and their needs,” Mazharenko said.

Đinh Thị Nhàn creates traditional toys at her granddaughter’s school to help the children learn more about their cultural heritage. MCC photo/Lê Đắc Phúc

Đinh Thị Nhàn, who lives in Bãi Muỗi Village, was one of 80 participants in the contest. She is the primary caregiver of her granddaughter Qúy. At the preschool that Qúy attends, MCC provides nutritious lunches and life skills training to parents, caregivers and teachers on topics including child abuse protection, health and sanitation.

Đinh* wanted to participate in the competition to show her appreciation for the support her granddaughter receives. She created traditional toys to help the children learn more about their cultural heritage.

Villages in the Tân Sơn District are isolated and lack electrical grids and retail centres. During the monsoon season—the Phú Thọ province receives an average of 18 cm of rainfall in its wettest month—roads leading from the villages to towns are impassable and vulnerable to mudslides. Acquiring toys for children may be difficult if not impossible.

Triệu Thị Lụa, from the Dao ethnic group, is wearing her traditional clothing while she speaks on behalf of her group at the toy-making competition sponsored by MCC in Tân Sơn District, Phú Thọ Province in Vietnam. MCC photo/Lê Đắc Phúc

The toy competition encouraged parents and grandparents to create toys that develop fine motor skills and increase physical development in their children. Some toys were sent home to families, while some remained at the schools. When parents are involved in events like this, they understand the importance of their involvement in child-rearing, Mazharenko said.

“Communal events are one of the most important ways of community building,” Mazharenko said.

Đinh Thị Nhàn and her granddaughter, Qúy, walk home after the toy competition. Đinh is carrying the tea set she and other children’s parents received for making the best toys in Bãi Muỗi Village. MCC photo/ Lê Đắc Phúc

In addition to these events and teacher training, MCC supports the physical maintenance of preschools. When a storm damaged the roof of a preschool in the Suối Bòng village, allowing rain to leak into the classroom, MCC provided traditional materials for its repair. Community members then led and completed the construction.

Qúy’s new toys are a symbol of communities that are organizing to support their youngest members. When Qúy steps into primary school, she will be equipped to do what is most important at her age: to learn and have fun.

*In Vietnam, family names are given first.