Peace Winds Japan will organize the "Kids Be Kids!" event which will be held on January 25 for the Rohingya refugee children attending the Child Learning Center in Camp 14, Hakimpara Refugee Camp in Bangladesh. 200 boys and girls (ages 8-12) will participate in sports activities to promote exercise, teamwork, and mental health. The harsh conditions of the camps often rob these kids of a bright childhood. This event is an opportunity to restore some of what has been taken!
Conditions for Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh continue to worsen as over 700,000 new refugees fled across the border from Myanmar following an outbreak of violence in August 2017. Children are often the first victims as they are the most vulnerable to a lack of food and clean water. Compounded with limited access to health services and schools, unhygienic living conditions, and restricted movement there is an urgent need for these kids to have the freedom to be kids.
PWJ, in collaboration with Dhaka Community Hospital Trust, will host a day of fun for 200 children, organizing activities and providing them with a safe space to enjoy being a kid. 12 Rohingya youth volunteers will be selected and involved in the planning and coordinating of this event. Additionally, PWJ will hold a Health Awareness session before snack and lunch breaks teaching nutrition and a "clean the field time" before going home for environmental education.
This project offers 200 children a day of relief from the harsh realities of the refugee camp. While they encounter shortages of all kinds in their daily lives, on this day, they will experience abundance - laughter, freedom, and fun. This kind of relief is an essential need. PWJ and Dhaka Community Hospital Trust currently provide primary healthcare and pre/post-natal care to women in Cox's Bazar. We see this care for children as an extension of our work in ensuring healthy families.
