Through our play-based education programs, children are learning about harmful diseases that affect them and their communities
Through this learning, we're teaching children about diseases and what they can do to protect themselves. This critical information can literally save a child's life. Here's how:
IT STOPS THE SPREAD OF MALARIA
Malaria kills 12,000 kids every day.
100% of these deaths
can be prevented.
Our unique games, like Malaria Relay, teach kids how to prevent malaria AND identify the symptoms of the disease so that they can get help, fast.
By playing our game Malaria Relay, kids learn the symptoms of malaria just by participating. Here's how it works.
1) First, participants are divided into at least three teams.
2) Much like a relay race, each child must run to a series of check points (at Right To Play, we call them: markers) and complete six different steps, before running back to tag the next teammate to start:
The game ends when all players complete the relay.
3) Once done, the children take part in our Reflect-Connect-Apply discussion. Led by a Right To Play-trained Coach, they reflect on the activity ("What were the symptoms of malaria you were demonstrating?"), connect it to their own experiences (“How do people get malaria?”) and apply their knowledge to real life (“What should you do if you or someone you know has these symptoms?").
At the end of the day, when the children go home they remember how much fun they had AND the important messages they learned from the educational game. The more children we reach, the more impact we have on preventing malaria.
CHILDREN UNDERSTAND THE DANGERS OF
HIV AND AIDS
2.6 million youth and children, under the age of 15 years, are living with HIV.
Children need to learn about the diseases that can threaten their lives. This is especially true when it comes to HIV and AIDS. It's why we teach children about how their bodies work.
Enter our game: Infection Protection.
Here's how it's played:
Children are divided into groups. In each group, one child plays the role of the Body and another child the role of the Virus. The remaining children play the Immune System. The children join hands and form a circle around the Body, keeping the Virus on the outside.
The objective of the game is for the Immune System to work together with the Body to prevent the Virus from tagging the Body. If the Virus touches the Body, the Body gets sick. The children playing the role of the Body must hop on one leg to symbolize this, while one child from the Immune System must become a part of the Virus team. The game continues until the Body is left without an Immune System.
In Reflect, Connect, Apply discussion, children discover why having a healthy immune system is so important, and why HIV and AIDS is dangerous. They talk about different types of interactions that can harm the body. They also learn ways to keep the immune system strong.
These integrated learning moments happen throughout all our programs, and that's helping us spread knowledge about HIV and AIDS prevention.
TO PREVENT
DIARRHEAL DISEASES
Each year, diarrheal diseases kill 760,000 children under five years. It's the second-leading cause of death in that age group.
While diarrheal disease is treatable and preventable, factors like malnutrition, dehydration and weakened immune systems make it deadly for young children in disadvantaged communities. But thousands of lives can be saved with the right education. That means helping children learn to wash their hands before they eat and after they use the bathroom. By injecting fun into a lesson, kids will retain the knowledge and change their community.
For us, change starts with games like Clean Hands.
In this relay race activity, children are divided into teams of six to eight. Each team lines up behind a designated start line. Directly in front of each team is a washing station--complete with a bucket of water, a lid and a bar of soap on a clean sheet of paper.
To play the game, children must run to the bucket, take the lid off of it, pick up the soap and wash their hands for 15 seconds (counting out loud). They must then place the soap back on the paper, replace the lid and run back to their team, tagging the next participant into the game. The game ends when all children have completed their turn.
As with all our activities, the children reflect on their experience and how it applies to their life. In this case, they learn that washing their hands for at least 15 seconds will help them stay healthy. It's a simple but important lesson to teach young children in disadvantaged communities who face poverty and unsanitary conditions.
