Trash to Treasured: Creating Toys to Grow Healthy Kids

Toys help children learn about the world around them. Almost anything can become a toy: a box, a piece of ribbon, a plastic bottle, a piece of paper. In Africa, CRS is helping parents make something educational out of ordinary household materials. The new Toy Story is one of creativity, dedication and devotion to a child's future.

With support from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the THRIVE project in Tanzania, Kenya and Malawi helps children across the 0-age 5 continuum receive high-quality services and support so they can reach their potential. Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

CRS teaches parents and volunteers how to make toys to support children's development. The toys are made from household materials like string, bottles, paper and tin cans. Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

The THRIVE program helps ensure children have proper health and nutrition for their bodies—and their minds. Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

Toys are the tools of child development: As children play, they are developing their minds and growing their brains. Research shows that toys help children interact and explore the world around them. Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

Toys can be used to improve physical, sensory, intellectual and social development. They encourage creativity and imagination through make-believe. Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

CRS and volunteers teach caregivers how to make toys for young children. This shape sorter was made from a cardboard box. Shape sorters like this one challenge children's logic, problem solving and other cognitive skills. They also develop fine motor skills by placing and removing the shapes. Older children can learn to name the shapes. Photo by Ellysia Overton for CRS

Dolls and stuffed animals, like this rabbit, help children practice daily living skills. Kids often find it easier to practice skills on an object like a doll before applying it to themselves. Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

Many of the children in CRS' THRIVE program face daily struggles with poverty or health. Playing with toys is therapeutic and an opportunity for them to just be kids. Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

These children in Tanzania are proud of their toys. Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

Communities and health facilities hold clinics and workshops for parents on early childhood development. At least once a month, their children join them in these settings, where they can play and make friends with other kids. Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

Parents learn skills that help them form strong attachments with babies, including body and eye contact, smiling and breastfeeding. They also learn how to make toys and encourage learning at home. Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

Toys open up a world of possibilities for children. Besides helping children achieve developmental milestones and practice language skills, toys encourage imagination and social development. Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

Toys can foster friendships, as children learn how to share, negotiate and challenge each other. Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

Toys can develop a child's confidence. Children are proud of what they can do with toys, and when an adult acknowledges that accomplishment, a child's self-esteem gets a boost. Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

A tunnel of tires creates a space for children to develop their motor—and social—skills, as they take turns crawling through it. Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

Toys with various colors and textures grab children's attention and stimulate their senses. Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

Parents say their children's locally made toys have made a positive difference in their children's development. Adults who participate in THRIVE realize that toys are an important tool for identifying and developing the unique gifts of each child. Photo by Philip Laubner/CRS

13-5563422Federal Tax Exemption ID Number

Catholic Relief Services is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; Donations to CRS are tax-deductible to the full extent allowable under the law.

Catholic Relief Services eases suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality.

We are the official overseas relief and development agency of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and a member of Caritas Internationalis.

Trash to Treasured: Creating Toys to Grow Healthy Kids

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