August 2018 had taught them a lesson they wouldn’t forget. Floods had disrupted normal life in Kerala for days on end and Rights, an NGO for child's rights, was distributing relief materials at one of the rescue camps. One little girl told Ajay Kumar, the founder of the NGO, that she has lost her Chingi. He had not understood what she meant then.
“It was the child’s toy, I found out later,” Ajay says. He and the other volunteers with him were disheartened when children at the camps would come and ask them if there’s anything for them. “We were all so busy distributing clothes and food and other essentials that toys for children just didn’t cross our minds. It may seem insignificant to an adult, but a toy could really cheer up the children who’d be mentally down during such disasters. I have seen how it could help children going through post-disaster trauma,” says Ajay, who is now preparing a toy wagon to be sent to the children in violence-hit Delhi.
“When we realised how much a toy could lift up a child’s spirits, we decided in 2019, when another round of floods hit Kerala, to collect only toys to be sent to the rescue camps. There were many other voluntary organisations collecting and distributing other relief materials anyway,” Ajay says.
Rights sent two toy wagons from East Fort in Thiruvananthapuram to flood-hit areas in Wayanad and Nilambur in 2019. “We had announced some collection points on the way but the wagons were already half full when they started and by the time they reached Kozhikode, they were spilling with toys. The children were so happy to have them,” Ajay recalls.
Those who wish to contribute to the toy wagon (‘Kalipatta vandi’) to Delhi can do so till March 15. Toys, crayons, colour pencils, football, chess board, skipping rod, badminton, cricket bat, ball can all be brought to the office of Rights in Jagathy, Thiruvananthapuram. The numbers to contact are 9895853649 (8 am to 6 pm), 0471-2326455 (6 pm to 10 pm).