CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS

THE PANDEMIC IS A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

For many of the world’s most marginalized children, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. And its toll is not just physical. Quarantines, lockdowns, and social isolation have had serious impacts on mental health. More than 2/3 of children have seen their mental health grow worse over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Girls, refugee and displaced children, and children with special needs have been especially hard hit. But with your help, we can continue to provide children with resources to keep them learning, keep them safe, and keep them healthy.

PLAY CAN CHANGE A LIFE

Right To Play is a leader in using the power of play to help the world’s most marginalized children. Trauma, grief, and isolation can create long-lasting psychological consequences for children and youth. Using play-based psychosocial methods, we create caring, supportive environments that help traumatized children understand and manage the complex emotions they are feeling, including grief, fear and anxiety.

Play prevents mental health conditions from worsening, and helps children continue to develop emotionally, socially, and cognitively — even under the toughest conditions. It helps children to recognize and express their emotions and develop positive relationships with peers and family members. It helps them recover their sense of normalcy and their hope for a bright future.

GAZA: TAHA'S STORY

It’s hard enough to get around in a typical city using a wheelchair, but air strikes and sanctions make Gaza’s crumbling infrastructure almost completely inaccessible. For 12 year old Taha, access to a mobility device meant he was able to overcome social isolation, make friends and go back to school.
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JORDAN: QASIDA’S STORY

After her father was killed in the Syrian Civil War, Qasida struggled with feelings of loss, and was forced to cope with isolation in her new life as a refugee in Jordan. She was acting out in school and at home until she enrolled in a Right To Play program that helped her process her anger and her grief.
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CANADA: DALLAS' STORY

If you ask 19-year-old Dallas about himself, he will tell you that he’s shy. But Dallas’ shyness hasn’t held him back from transitioning from being a youth participant to becoming a youth worker at Sagitawa Friendship Centre’s PLAY program in Peace River, Alberta.
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