Spelementen

As refugee numbers continue to rise and volunteers are stretched thin, there is little support for the children living in camps. Their lives can be put on hold for years as they wait for their asylum status to be approved. Having consulted experts that work with children, such as a hapto-therapist, Ashardeen Sultan and Steven de Windt constructed a set of open-ended toys that promote therapy through talking. In a tent like environment, a child can privately reflect or have difficult conversations with a volunteer. Another toy lets a child take centre stage to share information or tell stories to others. As children tend to bottle up trauma, ‘Spelementen’ aims to help them verbalize their difficulties through play and teamwork.