Toy rehab for refugee children

I've made 2019 the year of helping/assisting/loving/donating/volunteering on my Discovering Love inspirational site. Most of the articles will be mine, but I’ve asked friends for guest articles on how they’re working in their circles of influence. Stay tuned!  

A Central American boy chose a hot-pink teddy bear from the large bag of soft toys.

I blurred the faces for security's sake. The smiles under the blurs
showed their excitement at having their own soft toys to love.

© 2019 Christy K Robinson

One of the least important, useless services we can provide for refugees who lack the basics of food and shelter and clothing is providing toys for kids, right? If parents really loved their children, they wouldn't have brought them on such a hazardous journey, right?

NO!

The moms who set out on the 2,000-mile journey with a toddler and another child are women who are fleeing gang and drug cartel violence, and grinding poverty. Their husbands and boyfriends (or maybe rapists) were either recruited, voluntarily or involuntarily, to the gangs or they may be dead because of the cartels that drive through the ramshackle neighborhoods and shoot them up with automatic weapons, or kidnap older children for their drug gangs.

The young mothers we see appear to be 18-30 years old. There are a few men with older children, but they are vastly outnumbered by the women. I haven't seen any middle-aged or older refugees. This may be because the busloads of refugees that Department of Homeland Security (ICE) drops at the host churches are from family detention centers and not from the centers where adults without children are housed.

See my article on an interfaith group who host and feed refugees

These Central American families come from horrific societal conditions we could hardly imagine, if not for the efforts of journalists -- journalists whose passports and travels have been flagged by Homeland Security because the narratives they publish vary from the agenda of the Trump administration that insists that the United States is being invaded by "illegals:" liars and thieves who want to steal American jobs and American benefits but who have been advised to claim asylum so they'll have a better chance at successful immigration. 

Whereas in the past, most immigrants were adults who came for low-paying agricultural jobs, now the majority of immigrants are coming with their children. The Trump administration blatantly said in 2017 that their policy of family separation was meant as a deterrent to immigration. Public outcry at children kept in cages and fences and federal courts eventually resulted in many families being kept together. But not all. Thousands of unaccompanied minors remain in concentration camps and residential detention centers.

BBC story and photo: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44531187

When the families are released from Border Patrol and bused to a host church or the Greyhound bus station with ankle monitors, but no shoelaces, no money, no food, no tickets to host families, who could think of a luxury like a toy for a toddler? 

With all the needs that refugee families have, why is it important for children to have fluffy bunnies and colorful teddy bears?

For joy. For love. For comfort.

Look at this child's joy, as a volunteer gives him a soft toy of his own.

Many of the ositos (little bears) have tags for FAO Schwartz, Build a Bear, and Gund.

Monkeys and bunnies about to be re-homed to a refugee child.

Meet Sherry, the stuffed animal veterinarian

No, Sherry isn't stuffed! Nor is she a veterinarian. She's a retired CRNA, certified registered nurse anesthetist by profession, and by avocation, the fixer, healer, redeemer, and nurse of stuffed animals. Her husband and helper declines to be named, but loves the work they've embarked upon.

How did you see a need and proceed to fill it? 
Sherry: "At the first place we went to volunteer, the refugees were coming off the Homeland Security bus with just the clothes they were wearing. The children had no toys. We wanted to give them some safety and security and something to hold onto, that could be theirs. The little faces just really light up when they get them. Their lives have been turned upside down. Getting the bears is comforting."

Why do children need stuffed toys?

She loves her pink, fluffy bear. So does the
little girl in the background.

Sherry: "I can remember when I was a student in nursing school, the nursing department of this large hospital had toys donated for abused or burned children coming in. We tried to give them plush toys to hold onto for comfort."

Where do you get the stuffed toys? What is your rehab process?
Sherry: "I go to Goodwills and all the thrift stores, and I pick teddy bears, dogs, cats, animals in good condition for maybe $1.50. Sometimes I come home with one, or three or four or 10. We don't buy big toys like a shark or elephant. We buy small toys because we give them to small children. I take the clothes off, because some come in fancy clothes and some have no clothes. I don't want some children to have fancy bears and others not. Some church members have been giving new toys, but it's not about buying new toys, it's about giving new life to toys that are donated. There was a bear that we decided not to give away because it looked like it was frowning. We give happy bears.
We buy only the ones in good condition. No battery-operated pieces, unless it's a good buy, and then I cut it out. We make sure there's nothing sharp on it. I've had to do some mending where the seams have torn.
We put plenty of Downy in the wash, because I like them to smell good, and they do. We have two sofas full of toys ready to go. " 

An array of rehabbed animals on Sherry's sofa.

Do you have helpers? Are you one of several people who do this? 
Sherry: "It's our project. My husband says it's a full-time job. You have to be retired! He helps clean bears and cuts tags."

How many stuffed animals do you distribute each week?  
Sherry: "It depends on how many I get. Last week, we had about 40 animals to give out, but we needed more for the number of children who were there. One week we passed out everything we had, and 15 children didn't have any, so I ran home, washed and dried some more, and brought enough then for the rest of the children. We had about 75 last week."

Even a hard heart would melt for this lineup!

How does this volunteer work bless you? 
Sherry: "This is our mission. Children are what interest us, and just being around these people who have gone to such lengths to keep their children safe. The trip they've taken, the protection they give them. [Doing this] warms my heart tremendously. It's God's work, that's what we're doing. Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me." I hope it's meaningful and comforting to them."

Everybody into the hot tub!

  

How you can help

• Look at your child's or grandchild's toy collection, and note the soft, fluffy stuffed toys they don't use now. Talk to them about sharing with children who need a toy to love.
• You might have Easter bunnies or Valentine bears you've decorated with over the years or received as gifts. Remember that the families you're donating to have been very poor and giving something ostentatious or excessive would be too great a contrast between "rich Americans" and indigent refugees. Allow the parents the dignity of providing for their children.
• Collect stuffed toys from your friends and church members. Visit thrift shops. Remember that the toys should be 15 inches or smaller because the children will be carrying them, and the parent may need to stuff it in a pack while the child sleeps or while traveling.
• Spot-clean and vacuum the toys to remove dust or pet fur. Wash them very gently, and fluff the fur when they're dry. Make sure there are no small parts that could choke a child. Mend any burst seams that could leak stuffing.
• Take the toys to a host church or hospital for distribution. Wherever you live, be it Phoenix-metro where we are, or Denver, Atlanta, Modesto, or Minneapolis, there are hospitals or refugee centers, homeless shelters, and preschools in an economically disadvantaged area that would welcome your help. 

These bears have already been chosen by children who are being fitted for new shoes. The bears will be loved. 

Sherry Barlow Cooper didn't want her photo to be used
with this article, but I just learned that she'd passed away
in 2022. This is Sherry, serving food to indigent people
in Phoenix. 

Nice bombs
If God calls you to minister to others, it probably won't be in a way that you would hate or be embarrassed to do. If you have a horror of "witnessing" or preaching, please do not inflict that fear on others! Instead, Ask God to open your eyes to the needs of the people right there near you. You might drive a cancer patient to and from a chemo or physical therapy appointment. If you're good at woodworking or carpentry, someone needs your help repairing furniture. If you're a good cook, invite a single person or the friend of your kid over to dinner (especially on a holiday). If you have a green thumb, plant tomato seedlings in paper cups to give away, or grow fruit and vegetables in your garden to donate to others. If someone is moving house, pack some boxes or carry them out to the truck.

You don't even need to mention that you belong to XYZ Church and you're doing this as evangelism or charity work. Really. Do not do that! Just live your life dropping what I call "nice bombs." Give a compliment. Take a few hours to help where needed. Go through closets and storage and donate your stuff to a thrift shop or charity. 

This is not why volunteers do what they do: to get something out of it, to enlarge their congregation, or to feel good about themselves. But ask any volunteer if they feel blessed or privileged to do the work for others, and they will all agree. It warms the heart. It's the feeling that you belong to something bigger than yourself. In an increasingly hostile, divisive, and insular world, kindness and compassion bring us back together. Don't let the Karma Bus squash you flat, but instead, let it pick you up and take you to a happy place.

For other articles on refugees seeking asylum, click this link: https://christykrobinson.blogspot.com/search?q=asylum 

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Christy K Robinson is author of these books:

We Shall Be Changed (2010)

Mary Dyer Illuminated Vol. 1 (2013)  

Mary Dyer: For Such a Time as This Vol. 2 (2014)

The Dyers of London, Boston, & Newport Vol. 3 (2014)  

Effigy Hunter (2015)  

Anne Marbury Hutchinson: American Founding Mother (2018)

And of these sites:  

Discovering Love  (inspiration and service)

Rooting for Ancestors  (history and genealogy)

William and Mary Barrett Dyer (17th century culture and history of England and New England)

Editornado [ed•i•tohr•NAY•doh] (Words. Communications. Book reviews. Cartoons.)