Play is international, only the games and faces are different.Wherever there are children, there are children’s games. Play is natural for children— it is fun, it develops muscle, and it also builds community. By playing, kids learn about themselves, about their friends, about their society, and sometimes about the wider world.
You might see the world as a vast network of neighborhoods, each one a country or culture. Over every backyard fence there are children playing games, all inspired by a love of running, a love of throwing, a love of being together, being in action. In this network of backyards and neighborhoods, some of the fences are too high to see over. There are oceans in the way, barriers of language, forests of misunderstanding. Children from one neighborhood may not know how much they resemble the kids in another. Children growing in the United States may not see their kinship with children in South Africa or China. They may never know unless someone shows them that children everywhere else are children “just like you.”
Just Like You is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit whose after-school programs forge global understanding through play. Its mission is to promote international awareness among children by using sport, so the children may grow to be better global citizens.
Once a week, Just Like You presents an after-school program focused on a selected country. During the first half hour the children are taught about the country’s history, language and culture, including memorable facts and songs. After that they are treated to an hour of games from that country. First they learn, then they play. And they play and play. According to Jerry Darko of Just Like You, the students never want to go home, “we don't end up leaving for another hour or so.” It’s a genuine chance for children in Los Angeles to learn the games that children in other global neighborhoods play, and to discover that those different games make children around the world so alike. When we know we are alike we can see each other as neighbors, not strangers.
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This month I had the opportunity to travel with Stephanie Kinnunen, NEED magazine’s editor in chief, to Dubai in the United Arab of Emirates. NEED had been asked to be a media sponsor for the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development conference (DIHAD).
The DIHAD conference turned out to be great. The three-day event was full of knowledgeable speakers who touched on relevant development and disaster relief issues. DIHAD’s theme this year was “Empowering Communities between disaster and development,” and topics such as the reconstruction plan for Gaza strip, food crisis and global economic downturn were discussed.
photo | UNHCR / J. Wreford 
I recently returned from a trip to Honduras visiting several programs funded by UNICEF in collaboration with Change for Good. (UNICEF is a client of JS2 Communications, the public relations firm that I co-founded.) This trip was life-altering for me. As a business owner and a mother of two, I have been desperately trying to put the current economic downturn into perspective. It is easy to let the economy and overall national depression color and control my life. In Honduras, where 30 percent of the children are malnourished and many have no running water, I remembered how fortunate I am. It is up to people like me to advocate for children who deserve so much and receive so little.
Jennifer Smith, an occupational therapist from Minnesota, recently visited the Transitions headquarters in Antigua. Coming from the state-of-the-art facility of Sister Kenny at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, she was amazed by “how they do so much with so little.” The supplies in their shop were very basic: steel tubing, scraps of vinyl, an industrial sewing machine, and a solitary sketch of a wheelchair design. “I watched as one employee started to sew scraps of material together to make a cover for a foam seat cushion,” says Jennifer. “No measuring, he’d just start sewing.” From these rough outlines, the employees craft sturdy, agile chairs that can navigate the cobblestone streets of Antigua and the steep hillsides of surrounding villages.
Students Today Leaders Forever
Click to view the trailer“We're thrilled to announce that the trailer of Ana's Playground is available for viewing and downloading. We really wanted to create an exciting glimpse of the scope and caliber of the project while not giving away too much of the story. We truly hope you're as happy with the results as we are.” 