This is a series of blogs that Jennifer Wilmoth, LAMFT wrote after returning from a recent trip to Africa. A few reflections, a few lessons learned. Enjoy the journey. 

Stories from Africa: Chapter 5
Play Connects People

One of the ways we wanted to equip the nurses and head mistress at the school was to help children start to heal after experiencing trauma. I have found in my work with children in American play is the way children communicate and express their feelings. When adults play with children using specific skills the child can start to heal and rebuild their self-esteem after trauma.  We thought the process would be similar in the slum.  We entered the slum with many questions we hoped to find the answers to; What kind of trauma had the children lived through? How did the children play? Had the children ever experienced toys? Would the children use play to express themselves and heal similar to how American children do?

In the process of getting to know the students and teachers we asked many of these questions.  We came to discover what childhood in the slum was like; many of the children had lost family members to violence or disease, witnessed horrific crimes, and had little to no experience playing with toys. But these experiences or the lack of toys did not stop them from playing, imagining, and creating. Grace (the head mistress) explained many of the children play games with rocks and sticks. This struck me. Children will find a way to play regardless of their surrounding or if they have anything to play with. Play is their voice and they long to have their story heard. We planned to teach the staff how to do just that, hear the children’s stories through play.

The staff seemed eager to learn all they could about how trauma arrests a child’s development and how to help them start to heal. After teaching the staff the skills we had the opportunity to practice the skills with them using toys. The first time we introduced toys (baby dolls, soldier figures, dress-up cloths) their faces lit up with joy. There was laughter, smiles, and pure joy coming from the room. This excitement seemed to spark the interest of children, teachers, and one military officer at the school. The military officer seemed curious and asked many questions about the toys and the adults playing. The simple act of seeing people play seemed to take him back to his childhood and to his desire to play. He walked over to the toys on the blanket and picked up a soldier figure. I asked him if he had seen a toy soldier before and he shook his head no. As he stood there looking at the soldier with curiosity and imagination I realized what an important moment that was for him to be holding a toy, he had never seen before, of whom he identified himself to be, a soldier. He was drawn to the idea of playing and creating, something he had never had the opportunity to do with the toys he saw in front of him.

Before we left we had the opportunity to watch the staff use the skills in their own language with some of the children.  The nurses and head mistress felt many different emotions of excitement, sadness, and confusion as they witnessed the children use the toys to tell them about the trauma they had experienced in the slum.

We came to the slum thinking play would have the largest impact on the children and found play has no age limit on its impact from the smiles we witnessed on so many adult faces. It was extraordinary to see how play could break down the barriers between culture and age, but even beyond that I’m left with the idea that play connects us.  Play helped children tell their story and connect with adults in ways they never had the opportunity to do before. Play helped adults from different cultures to connect with each other.  I feel we left more than toys and information in the slum. We left hope and a way for young children to tell their stories and start to heal.

Jennifer Wilmoth, LAMFT
JWilmoth@ GROWcounseling.com