Mobile Play Centre for inclusion and early childhood development and learning

Some children do not have the opportunity to explore the world through play and to develop their motor, cognitive, logical and social skills through play. Often they are children from disadvantaged and refugee families - but play is a universal language for children to show themselves to the world, to discover what they can do and to find joy in doing things on their own or with others. The Mobile Play Library car, developed by ICDI using the TOY4Inclusion (Play for Inclusion) methodology, helps children to do just that. The aim of our programme is to enrich the operation of our existing Mobile Play Centre. The car provides services mainly in the Gyáli úti and Zugligeti úti refugee shelters, where Hungarian-speaking Roma families who are refugees from Ukraine live. The car brings the joy and developmental effects of free and facilitated play to both sites twice a week with the help of a qualified coordinator.

Who we work with, who we work for:

• Refugee young children (and their parents) living in refugee shelters with limited access to toys have fewer sources of pleasure and experience than the majority of children, and their living space is restricted.
• Majority and Roma children in the 9th district of Budapest

This is what we do in the programme:

• We enrich the daily running of the Play Centre with programmes and games
• We organise all-day adventure activities during the summer
• We organise outings for family events in the 9th district
• We write a survey on how the mobile play centre works

Duration of the project:

2024.05.01.-2024.10.31.

This is how the world will be a better place through the programme:

• Children living in the hostel will have a richer experience every day.
• Children staying at the hostel can enjoy a full day of fun activities during the summer, and can also go to family events in the 9th district to meet and socialise with families from Budapest.
• This is how the social integration of children living in the hostel is made more complete.
• The majority families participating in family events will become more sensitive to diversity and inclusion, as they will have a living relationship with refugee families.
• A research report based on data collection on the functioning of the Toy Library is being prepared, which will help us to better see where similar initiatives are needed and what more we can do for families.

The professional partners involved in the project:

• Ferencváros Directorate of Social and Child Welfare Institutions, Budapest Methodist Social Centre and
• Institutions (Temporary care for refugees, asylum seekers and protected persons - 1097 Budapest, Gyáli út 33-35., Pedagógus- és Nővérszálló

The UMGYEB-2024 project was funded by the UNICEF Regional Ukrainian Refugee Programme Hungary Office, under the conditions set by the Municipality of Budapest, in the framework of the tender "Care and Reception of Refugee Children from Ukraine", which was announced and implemented by the Budapest Social Public Foundation.