“The emotional toll from fire broke caused intense, confusing and frightening emotions in children. Many of them faced bereavement and trauma due to the loss of their home and belongings. It was quite challenging to help the children to get out of this trauma.”
In early 2019 Toybox received a phone call from our partner in India with news of a devastating fire that had destroyed hundreds of homes in one of the communities where we have been working for the last five years.
Naturally our partner was eager to respond, however needed our support to provide immediate care to those families who had lost everything. This is where our wonderful supporters stepped in. Thanks to generous donations, within hours of reaching out to us, the team in Delhi were able to respond on the ground; providing emergency care including clothes, toiletries, food and blankets to those who had been worst affected.
To add to an already tragic situation, many of the children in the community, who were due to sit exams in a few weeks, were heartbroken to lose their school bags and books in the fire. However, with support, our partner was able to construct a temporary shelter where over a hundred children could attend educational sessions and receive new uniforms, stationery, books and schoolbags, to support their learning and encourage them to continue attending school. In the months that followed the fire, the team continued to support children and families whilst their communities were rebuilt.