Let them play: Why joy is a lifeline for children in crisis

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A boy runs barefoot beside a rolling bike tire, guiding it with a stick in a game called “Sticks and Wheels.” A girl skips rope with a laundry line. Children tie string to rusted cans, dragging them behind like clattering parade floats. Another fashions a toy car from a plastic bottle, tugging it proudly across the dirt with a piece of twine. In the heat, they gather beneath mango trees to clap, chant and laugh through hand games. And when the rains come, they stomp and splash barefooted under the torrential downpour — soaked, singing and smiling, completely unbothered. In Liberia, where I raised my daughter during her first three years, I saw children invent joy from nothing every day.

Even when playgrounds existed, they were often rusted and broken down — the kind that came with splinters, sharp edges and a side of tetanus. I was privileged to be able to send my daughter to a school that prioritized learning through play. I could create safe spaces for her at home. But for many children around us, safe places to play simply didn’t exist. There were no reliable playgrounds. No protection. No peace of mind.

Play isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity. It’s how children recover from trauma, build resilience, develop critical skills and connect with the world around them. It’s how they stay kids, even when the world feels anything but safe.

This International Day of Play, we’re spotlighting the children and communities who remind us that play is never just play. From war zones to drought zones and from early childhood centers to football fields, here’s how Plan International is making space for joy — through programs designed to protect childhood and promote learning, healing and equality.

Children in Moldova stand in a circle holding up a colorful parachute during a visit from the Ludobus, Plan’s mobile play bus that offers games, books and psychosocial support for refugee and host community families.
Children in Moldova lift a colorful parachute during a Ludobus visit — a mobile play bus run by Plan that brings educational games and psychosocial support to refugee and host communities affected by the conflict in Ukraine. | © Plan International

Moldova: The play bus brings joy and relief

The Ludobus — short for “play bus” — is a traveling toy library filled with educational games, books and puzzles. It visits villages and refugee centers across Moldova, creating joyful spaces for children and relief for mothers affected by the conflict in Ukraine. As children engage in play, mothers can rest or meet privately with psychologists to discuss their needs in a safe, supported environment.
Children in Gaza smile and play a hula hoop game during a recreational session organized by Plan and partners to support displaced families and provide psychosocial relief through play.
Children in Gaza take part in recreational activities supported by Plan’s emergency relief project, implemented in partnership with local organizations ACHA and Taawon. These safe spaces help children cope with trauma through joyful, healing play. | Ahmed Salama, © Plan International

Gaza: Reclaiming joy in a time of crisis

In Deir al-Balah, Gaza, where thousands of displaced families have sought shelter, Plan and its local partners are creating moments of joy amid unimaginable hardship.

Through an emergency relief project with the Abdel-Safi Community Health Association and Taawon, we support recreational activities for children affected by conflict. In these safe spaces, girls and boys dance, laugh and take part in interactive games designed to ease trauma and rebuild a sense of safety. These sessions do more than entertain — they offer psychological support and a path to healing.

Children play in a concrete courtyard surrounded by barbed wire in Lebanon, where public schools are closed and many serve as shelters due to ongoing conflict and displacement.
Children play in a courtyard repurposed as a shelter in Lebanon, where ongoing conflict has forced over a million children out of school. Plan continues to support safe spaces for children amid the crisis. | Rachel Chalita, © Plan International

Lebanon: Playing between the lines of conflict

In a dusty courtyard surrounded by barbed wire, children play as war unfolds just miles away. With more than 1 million children out of school due to conflict, Plan-supported play activities have become one of the few constants in their lives.

Children in school uniforms play a large floor board game during a Plan “Plan of Joy” session in Piura, Peru, designed to support emotional recovery and resilience after flooding.
Children in Piura, Peru, play a giant board game during a Plan of Joy session — part of Plan’s response to El Niño floods. The sessions teach children about resilience, safety, and emotional well-being through play. | © Plan International

Peru: The healing power of play after El Niño

After floods devastated her village, 9-year-old Génesis found solace at a “Plan of Joy” play session. “When we started playing, I didn’t think about the rain anymore,” she says. Games helped her manage fear, build confidence and feel less alone.
An 11-year-old girl in a green school uniform smiles while standing inside a colorful playground structure at her school in Zimbabwe, supported by Plan International.
Kimberly, 11, smiles on the playground at her school in Zimbabwe. With support from Plan International, the school has new classrooms and a safe play space — a rare and cherished place for children in her drought-affected community. | Tendai Marima, © Plan International

Zimbabwe: A playground becomes a reason to stay in school

In drought-affected Tsholotsho, Kimberly, 11, finds joy in a rare safe space: the school playground built with support from Plan International.

“At home I only have my cat to play with,” she says. “I love the playground — it’s a safe place for us to be children.”

As water becomes harder to find and more children drop out of school, Kimberly holds on to her dream: to stay in school and one day become a nurse.

A teacher in Ethiopia leads a group of young children through hands-on play activities as part of Plan’s PlayMatters project, which supports learning and emotional development in refugee and host communities.
A teacher leads a Learning through Play session with young children in Benishangul-Gumuz, Ethiopia. Through Plan’s PlayMatters project, refugee and host community children build skills and resilience in safe, engaging environments. | Natnael Tesfaye, © Plan International

Ethiopia: Learning through play in a region affected by crisis

In Benishangul-Gumuz, a region in northwestern Ethiopia affected by conflict and displacement, Plan’s PlayMatters project is helping children recover and grow. The program equips teachers and facilitators with tools to integrate learning through play into classrooms. Through guided, hands-on activities, children ages 3 to 12 in both refugee and host communities strengthen cognitive, emotional and creative skills — building resilience in safe, inclusive spaces.

Girls in Atacora, Benin, play football in matching uniforms on a dirt field as part of Plan International’s Impact-Elle project, which uses sport to promote gender equality and leadership.
Girls play football in Atacora, Benin, as part of Plan’s Impact-Elle project. The program promotes girls’ leadership and gender equality through sport, while also reducing financial barriers with equipment and school supplies. | Isabelle Lemou, © Plan International

Benin: Girls take the field — and their power

Through the Impact-Elle project, Plan supports 16 girls’ football teams in Atacora, creating safe spaces where girls can play, lead and be seen.

What begins on the field ripples out: the program challenges gender norms, fosters leadership and encourages parents to support their daughters’ participation — helping change the story for the next generation.

A smiling girl in Poland with long brown hair plays with colorful therapy blocks during a support session, part of a refugee assistance program run by Patchwork and Plan.
Alesia plays during a therapy session in Poland, supported by the Patchwork Association in partnership with Plan. The organization helps refugee children with disabilities access education and psychosocial services. | Weronika Jurkiewicz, © Plan International

Poland: For children with disabilities, play is therapy

After fleeing Ukraine, Nataliia found support for her daughter Alesia, a child with special needs, through Plan-supported therapeutic play sessions. There, Alesia began to thrive again. For this family, play is more than fun — it’s foundational.

A group of teenage girls in Brazil, part of Plan’s Leadership School for Girls, stand smiling on a basketball court after a team-building activity that supports leadership and advocacy.
Participants in Plan’s Leadership School for Girls gather on a basketball court in Brazil. The program uses games and team-building activities to help girls develop leadership skills and advocate for their rights. | Rafael Gardini, © Plan International

Brazil: Where play becomes power

Girls in Brazil are learning to lead through Plan’s Leadership School. It starts with teamwork and games, then grows into advocacy, public speaking and organizing. It’s play with purpose — and the girls are ready.

Children in Timor-Leste sit around a mobile library van, exploring books and participating in storytelling activities supported by Plan to spark imagination and learning through play.
Children gather around Plan’s mobile library in Timor-Leste, where storytelling and interactive learning promote early childhood development and a love for reading. | Rogerio Mendes Lopes, © Plan International

Timor-Leste: Imagination on wheels

In the rural hills of Timor-Leste, a mobile library van rolls into view — and children run to meet it. For many, it’s their first chance to hold a book, hear a story or experience a structured learning activity.

Plan supports this mobile library to bring storytelling, games and early learning tools to children in remote communities. These sessions nurture imagination and build the cognitive, emotional and social skills that children need to thrive. In places where access to quality education is limited, the joy of reading becomes a powerful form of play — and a stepping stone to a brighter future.

Let them play

Every story here is different, but the theme is the same. Play builds stronger kids, safer communities and more just futures. That’s why Plan creates spaces like these — in classrooms, on dirt fields and even through mobile buses.

Across continents and crises, these moments of joy reveal something deeper: play isn’t just a distraction — it’s a defense. A lifeline. And a declaration that childhood matters, even in the hardest places.

This International Day of Play, join us in protecting and celebrating childhood.

Donate to Plan International today and help give every child a reason to play.

Give the gift of play

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