Give children the gift of an education

Zachia is not your average girl. The 16-year-old is benefitting from a Right To Play education and is an active participant in our game-based programs in Burundi.

Our lessons have changed her life.

"I used to come home very late at night," says Zachia. "When my parents argued with me, I said: 'I am old enough to know what to do with my life.'" 

Her father recalls the hurt he felt during their arguments. “She would tell me if we continued shouting, she would leave the house and live on the streets.”

Since becoming involved in Right To Play activities, Zachia has learned compassion and understands how her positive and negative actions influence others and herself. Zachia's new-found coping skills empower her to cooperate with her parents and peers, resolve conflict peacefully with her siblings and, most importantly, attend school and get good grades so that she can graduate. 

She also comes home on time. And Zachia no longer forces her younger siblings to do all of the chores, like fetching the water for the family. She pitches in and behaves like the caring, responsible sister and daughter she is. All, because someone like you empowered Right To Play with the funding to facilitate our life-and behaviour-changing work in Zachia's community. 

Thanks to our educational programs, Zachia is now a happy and healthy girl who shares every life-saving lesson she's learned, such as how to prevent diseases, like malaria and HIV and AIDS and the importance of hand washing to prevent diarrheal disease, with her family and friends.

“I respect my parents," affirms Zachia. "When I get home I share what I have learned with them." 

And it's having wide impact. Zachia's entire family is healthier and her parents understand the importance of their children attending and graduating from school, even the girls.

Zachia is one of the ONE MILLION CHILDREN AND YOUTH, positively impacted by our educational programs in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and North America. And there are more that we need to help.

They all need our support. 

According to UNICEF, 57 million children do not attend school. Without the right education, these children are susceptible to illness and extreme poverty. The more conflict they face, the more likely they are to develop trauma.

you can give these children hope.

For $50, you can give one child access to one year of Right To Play's educational programs that will help them attend school, stay healthy and recover from traumatic conflict. Just ask Fares...

Recently, Fares family fled his hometown in Syria to find refuge in Baalbek, Lebanon. But the sounds of the bombs and the shootings and the violence he witnessed back home stayed with the eight-year-old boy long after his family reached safety. Fares had severe post-traumatic stress disorder. 

He couldn't sleep and he stopped communicating with others. The extreme anxiety was overwhelming for the little boy and he isolated himself, making it "difficult to learn and keep up with his classmates at school," says his teacher. 

Soon, Fares stopped going to school. Sweating, shaking and a racing heartbeat took over his performance, personality and social life. His mother took Farez to several doctors, but nothing helped the little boy.  

UNTIL HE JOINED 
Right To Play.

On a rare day when Fares felt confident enough to attend school, his teacher--a newly-trained Right To Play educator--introduced one of our educational games to his class. Fares was captivated. The fun, learning activities filled his mind with happy memories from his years in Syria, before the war. Interacting in an inclusive, accepting and safe environment also helped to calm his nerves and socialize with the other children in his class.

Since that day, Fares has attended school regularly. He looks forward to going and eagerly participates in Right To Play lessons. Amazingly, his panic attacks have decreased, while his concentration increased and he has made several friends with whom he plays and studies.

"I cannot express how happy I am to see my child transforming this much," says Fares' mother.

And Fares is just one child.

For $250, you can give five more children access to our educational activities.

And when you do, it changes their lives forever. 

"I am what I am today because of Right To Play,"
says Muhammad.
“It has changed my life—I didn’t have one before.”

Growing up, 13-year-old Muhammad had severe health issues that caused him to feel fragile. He became isolated at school. Barely able to move his arms, he “hardly participated in anything, let alone games,” affirms the student from Mardan, Pakistan. Some of his classmates ridiculed him and the kids that Muhammad did interact with never included him in physical activities. 

Right To Play has changed all of that. Through our educational programs, Muhammad's confidence and intellectual and physical abilities have grown. As a result his self-esteem is flourishing, he's developed friendships and made incredible physical strides, including being able to move his arms and hands in ways that were "previously impossible," says Muhammad. Our unique games, created specifically for disabled children, have empowered Muhammad and his abled classmates to learn and develop healthy behaviours inclusive of acceptance, understanding and teamwork. 

"There was no bigger joy for me," says Muhammad.

Now, Muhammad is a Right To Play Junior Leader, leading our activities for more than 30 students at his seminary in Karachi—and he always remembers to include everyone.

“It feels good when I impart what I learned," says Muhammad. "But it feels better when I am part of the same activities as others.”

THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD give THE GIFT OF play