“The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing there.” Zechariah 8:5
Imagine this.
A sweet-faced, dark-eyed child lives in the slums. There is no playground down the block. No swingset in the backyard. No safe place to stay outside. This child stays inside, day in and day out, because it’s too dangerous to linger outside.
This boy wants to play. He NEEDS to play.
Play is essential for growth and development. So important, in fact, that the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights lists play “as a right of every child.” Not just some children. Not just those in the wealthy suburbs or those in affluent countries, but EVERY child, EVERYWHERE, including the poor kids in Medellin.
Picture this boy.
He wants to go outside and run. He wants to be around other kids his age, talking and laughing. He wants to make friends and do fun things.
Think about this child.
He hasn’t been to the movies. He has never been to a university. He has not been on a trip or seen the ocean, but something inside him longs to explore the world outside of the slums.
How Casa de Sueños helps children by providing play and exploration of the world
Casa de Sueños helps that lonely little boy – and hundreds of others like him.
Casa de Sueños, Medellin’s premier nonprofit for children and abused young women, understands that children need to play, interact with other kids, experience travel, and explore the world.
Children who get these opportunities grow into adults who can socialize with strangers, get along with others, and understand the people and institutions in the world around them.
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. – Proverbs 27:17
The benefits of playing team sports
Physical activity improves the health and well-being of children, developing muscle and bone strength, cardiovascular endurance, and flexibility and coordination. But there are many other advantages. Playing team sports – no matter which sport – provides many additional benefits that are consistent from country to country.
Casa de Sueños has seen the power of playing team sports over the past decade. Children who engage in these activities have gained these benefits:
- Lowered rates of anxiety, depression, and stress
- Higher self-esteem and confidence
- Reduced risk of suicide
- Increased creativity
- Enhanced cognitive performance
- Improved ability to get along with others
- Heightened sense of life satisfaction
One component of Casa de Sueños’ internationally acclaimed “Childhood” and “Helping Hand” programs is that team activities and physical activity are incorporated into the curriculum. Children learn from each other, help each other, and take strength from each other.
That little boy sitting in the slums who wants to play benefits from the activities that Casa de Sueños offers poor children and abused young women.
“Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
-Job 38:16
Casa de Sueños helps children experience travel
If a boy never gets out of his neighborhood, he can’t know what the rest of the world is like.
Casa de Sueños understands that traveling opens the eyes of children to the possibilities of life outside the slum. That’s why the foundation plans trips and experiences that help the children explore the world.
Imagine that little boy’s excitement as he steps onto a charter bus for the first time in his life to travel to the ocean. When the bus arrives, the teachers have the kids disembark and line them up. Each one is given a blindfold and then instructed to hold onto the shoulder of the person in front of him as they all walk down to the beach.
That little boy is about to experience a moment he will never forget: his first look at the ocean.
He’ll pull off the blindfold and stare, mouth round with surprise. He’ll squeal and run to the water, putting in his hands and splashing his buddies. He’ll curl his toes into the sand, feel the mist of water on his face, and sniff the salty breeze of a magnificent force he’d never experienced before.
That’s what happened to the children and young women at Casa de Sueños on a planned field trip to the ocean.
Helping children explore the world
A boy’s head is full of the sound of the surf and the color of water, but there’s more to see.
He gets to explore more of the world and learn more about the people and institutions in the world outside the slums.
Along with his friends, he gets a tour of a military facility in Coveñas, learning about different roles in the military and expanding his understanding of institutions, jobs, and roles in the wider world.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
– Jeremiah 29:11
Casa de Sueños gives hope for the future
Twenty years from now, that lonely little boy from the slums who had the chance to experience play, sports, and travel will grow up to be a compassionate man, capable of working with others, interested in the world, aware of the possibilities.
He, and others like him, have hope for a future, promised by God and carried out through the efforts of Casa de Sueños.
That little boy will grow into a man who passes understanding and hope down to his children, creating a legacy of hope for the future generations of Medellin and the entire country of Colombia.
