When you step into the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh, you see children with the biggest smiles, playing with homemade toys, trailing their older siblings everywhere you look. Some attend informal schools or religious schools. The very few that can afford it may have in-home tutors, which provide additional support to the kids in the evenings.
While some families may earn a small income thanks to the small businesses they’ve started – selling tea or vegetables, or perhaps offering salon services – most of our friends living in the widows block don’t have enough to support their families and buy many of things I had as a child, like spare clothes and toys.
During one of my visits, we came with our hands full of toys, sports equipment, and board games for the littlest kids of the block. I have never seen such excitement over blocks and balls!
Faruq, an 8-year old boy with a boat load of curiosity and a much bigger heart, told me that they hadn’t played with many of these toys in a long time, especially footballs, because “people here (Bangladesh) play cricket, not football!”
After having a friendly fight over who was going to carry the ball to the playing area (an empty piece of land where kids run around), Faruq and his friends were off!
Their excitement sent a rippling wave of joy into the block, especially in their mothers, who were left smiling behind them.
Meet Shamaila! Shamaila is part of the Global Connections team based out of Minneapolis. She supports partnerships and fundraising for Alight’s initiatives with the diaspora, LGBTIQ+ refugees, Rohingya women, and beyond! She is deeply passionate about supporting the most marginalized communities worldwide – those living in the shadows — to reclaim their voice and has found Changemakers 365 a powerful tool to support this.
