Journalism of Courage
Toy Bank works on a simple premise – give children in need their right to a happy childhood by providing a variety of toys
The twinkle in seven-year-old Laxmi’s eyes was hard to miss. Sitting expectantly amidst a group of children from Rabindranath Tagore school in Pune,Laxmi kept throwing glances at the huge carton box in a corner. Around 30 minutes later,she was engrossed in finding the last piece that would complete her jigsaw puzzle. Volunteers from the organisation Toy Bank had just distributed games and toys to these kids and for the members of this NGO,it is savouring this excitement on the children’s faces that make their cause a success. Formed in 2004,by Mumbai-based engineer Shweta Chari,the organisation works out of five cities – Pune,Mumbai,Delhi,Bangalore and one in Bhutan. Chari had given up her corporate job to work full-time at the Toy Bank after she had surveyed the way children live in India. Her stint with an NGO had also acquainted her to the level of deprivation that children in the country face. “I,of course,understood that food and shelter were important must-haves for these kids,but I also realised that their childhood was colourless and plain.” And that is when the Toy Bank was formed. The organisation works on a simple premise – give the children their right to a happy childhood by providing a variety of toys. Close to 8000 children have been touched by this generosity so far.
The organisation also creates toy libraries for social organisations like schools,NGOs and hospitals which are in need. Last year,in September they had set up a toy bank at the play therapy department at the Deenanth Mangeshkar Hospital. For volunteers like Pattani,this is an important part of their lives “We just want every child to grow up with the joys of childhood,and once we do that,our objective is met.”
(You can donate toys too. Visit http://www.toybank.org or
write to mail@toybank.org)
