ABOUT US

ChildsPlay International (CPI) is a non-profit that works to promote greater opportunities for play and free education where it has been curtailed — for example, because of war, famine, or natural disaster. 

Join us as we explore the significance of play, its profound impact on children’s lives and development, and how we are committed to making a positive difference through play-based learning initiatives globally.

"Play is the Work of Childhood"

- Jean Piaget -

Our Impact

CPI has reached 6,000+ vulnerable children, in nearly a dozen of countries.

By offering free education in the form of organizing storytelling events, mask-making workshops, song and dance performances and other play-based learning projects, CPI and local partners provide a platform for vulnerable children to express themselves, learn and heal through the power of play.

Guided by Piaget’s wisdom that “Play is the work of childhood,” we recognize that play shapes essential qualities like resilience, integrity, and creativity in young minds.

Our Mission

Our mission is to foster greater opportunities for vulnerable children to play, learn, and develop while preserving local culture.

At CPI, play is fundamental to a child’s growth and we help create opportunities for play and learning in situations where it has been limited, such as during times of war, natural disaster, displacement or famine.

Collaborating with local teams, we cultivate lasting play initiatives that respect and preserve diverse cultures, ensuring sustainable impact for generations to come 

Play Helps Heal Trauma

Trauma takes many forms – pandemics, war, poverty, HIV orphanhood, displacement – and it affects children the most. While we can’t rid the world of these conditions, CPI is dedicated to creating places of safety and normalcy for children through the power of play.

 

Children in Nepal during natural play.

Play Engages the WHOLE Child

CPI recognizes that play and play-based learning engages not only the mind but the whole child. Through play-based learning, CPI gives vulnerable children a stronger sense of their own abilities through games, storytelling, mask-making and self-expression in the arts–engaging all their senses.

We design our play-based learning projects to engage the body, the heart, the voice and the imagination.

Play Conserves Culture

CPI believes that play and play-based learning are important to cultural conservation. Children’s games, dances, storytelling, or learning the local mask-making tradition, preserve culture. We collaborate with vetted locals to preserve cultural heritage and celebrate the diversity of play experiences. 

children in Uganda attending storytelling, free education outdoor setting

Free Education and Play-based Learning

ChildsPlay International offers free education to the children in our programs. While we compensate our local partners for delivering CPI’s educational programs, we ensure that the children receive snacks, refreshments, and unrestricted access to all classes.

Holistic education goes beyond the classroom and includes various forms of learning, including formal, informal, and experiential learning.

Countries

Our mission is to foster greater opportunities for vulnerable children to play, learn, and develop while preserving local culture.

Zambia's flag
ChildsPlay International’s (CPI) pioneering program in Lusaka, Zambia, brings together children across a wide age range in dynamic storytelling sessions.
CPI's Storytelling program in Northern Uganda provides support to children living in refugee settlements. The program aims to facilitate their healing journey through the power of storytelling.
During two projects, we brought together different schools in local villages, for competitive exercises that were athletic, intellectual, and performances.
During multiple projects, we served a refugee camp, a shelter for homeless children, and a remote village impacted by Covid-19.
We focused on bringing play to orphans who frequently spent their non-school hours working in underground mines.
Since 2014, we have sponsored mask-making workshops for vulnerable children. We are starting several storytelling programs in the fall.
Partnered with locals to reintroduce children to play, traditional song and dance, creative activities and traditional games in areas impacted by the conflict.

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