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The work promoted by Child Play International began in Argentina in
1979, when the first pediatric hospital playroom opened.
The aim was to provide a place where the sick children and their mothers could relax
and be guided into some anxiety-free play in the course of their otherwise sterile
hospital day. There are now five of these playrooms in different hospitals in Buenos
Aires, including the largest and newest one, and they are about to celebrate a 25 year
anniversary.
Since 1982 there has been an umbrella organization in Buenos Aires called "Juego y Vida",
which brings together and supports the hospital playroom coordinators and workers.
Then we broadened our help to other congenial projects aimed at helping children to play.
On a couple of occasions "Juego y Vida" had some extra money (thanks to CIDA grants) and
helped provide a play-based child care centre for the staff of a children's hospital,
play materials for day care centres in other towns, for an after-school program, and for
a young people's sport facility.
We have been participating as part of a consortium in a big project with CIDA funding,
aimed at introducing the "child-centred, play based" model of child care to two networks
of children's services in an impoverished suburb of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Just last year we began our first small project in a different country -- the Lima
schoolyard project. We are now planning another: providing play materials and play
supervision for the children in a shelter for abused women in the outskirts of Lima.
We have other ideas, when we can raise more money! We have no paid employees, and are
all volunteers. Our administrative expenses are low!
The people on our board are:
Barbara Fulford, who is a psychologist and has contacts in Argentina from having lived
there in the era of the first playrooms.
Pauline Hobbs, who worked for many years as a "Child Life" worker caring for children's
emotional needs in Canadian hospitals.
Joan Eddis, who has experience as a journalist and a civil servant in Health Canada.
Isobel MacKenzie, who has years of experience in child care and founded the Family Day
Care program of an important children's services agency in Ottawa.
Maria Eugenia Otarola, who works as a project officer in an important
non-governmental organization and helps us sort out project proposals.
Joey Sukman, who presides over a wonderful drop-in centre for children and parents at the Ottawa "Better Beginnings, Better Futures" project.
Karen Swinburne and Pam Waddington who have years of experience in the Home Day Care program os the Andrew Fleck Child Services in Ottawa.
Lizandro Galareta, who has project experience
from Peru and who went to Argentina as our play equipment specialist
for the early childhood education project there.
We now have other resourceful helpers as well who have joined us --
the list will be added to!
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