We received some very nice feedback from the Gifted Education Program in Madison County, Mississippi, where schoolchildren have been making dolls for the Dolls for Africa project. After learning about the “Dolls” project and the story about how children in a clinic near Cape Town had only one broken doll to share among them, all of the students enthusiastically embraced the idea of helping to make sweet, simple cloth dolls to send to children in need.
They also make clothes for the dolls. These students benefit from this labor of love in the knowledge that their help is actually needed.
It is our belief that helping children to experience the joy that comes from doing for others will foster altruistic instincts that will become a part of who they are. One of the kids said “This is the best thing I’ve ever done for someone else”.
Ms. S. Ross, teacher, Madison County Schools.
Projects such as “Dolls for Africa” touch the hearts and minds of children, sparking the growth of compassion, awareness and understanding. By involving children in international initiatives, the Kids to Kids program creates bonds of global friendship and gives physical and emotional support to children in times of need. As our founder, Sri Chinmoy, embraced the ideals of the United Nations, his projects for children reflect UN principles, providing an avenue of action for young citizens of the world to be of service to their peers in distant countries.
This is just one of the latest examples from a project that is now in its sixteenth year, and has involved hundreds of schools from all over the world. To take one example from 2007 – when under the powerful leadership of assistant principal Vivian Roger Hill, the children of The Renaissance Middle School in St. Albans, New York, participated in a humanitarian doll-making project for their South African brothers and sisters.
“I want to give dolls to the kids that are lonely, to show them that we love them.”
“Kids who never saw a toy before will feel happy, and it was a fun experience.”
kids without a family would know that “there are other children in the world that care about them.”
comments from children, Renaissance Middle School
