Imagination Kits for Children in São Paulo, Brazil
Imagination Kits for Children in São Paulo, Brazil
Our São Paulo COVID-19 project helped children and families during the pandemic by distributing kits to help stimulate cognitive and emotional development.
Imagination Kits for Children in São Paulo, Brazil
São Paulo, Brazil
Project type: COVID-19 Response
Collaborators: UN-Habitat, AVINA, Movemento Boa Praça, PAC Foundation
Region: Latin America and the Caribbean
Tags: accessibility, children and youth, COVID-19, economic opportunity, education and schools, innovation and technology, micro-interventions, multigenerational use, disaster recovery, public health, public safety and security, social inclusion and human rights, sports and recreation
Family receiving a “kit to feed children’s imaginations” in São Paulo © Avina
Background
The Pirituba neighborhood in north São Paulo is one of the most populated in the city. A large portion of household heads lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and hundreds of boys and girls have been isolated in precarious, overcrowded houses. Faced with their own difficulties, the adults were unable to give the kids as much care and attention or play with them. The project aimed to feed children’s creativity by distributing kits that stimulate cognitive and emotional development of even the youngest children.
Building Imagination, Block by Block
Thirty volunteers assembled and delivered baskets to 473 families in São Paulo. Each basket contained materials to express (wax pencils, coloured pens, markers, scissors, glue), materials to invent (elastic bands, string, cloth, cardboard, wooden sticks, hooks, pieces of wallpaper), an activity booklet (containing stories, activities, and a diary for kids to express their thoughts), and a nature kit (with flowers, logs, seeds, and other natural elements as well as a doll made of birdseed that grows green “hair” when watered).
Volunteers assembled and distributed nearly 500 creativity packs © Avina
Progress
The materials have been helping children express and occupy themselves in a playful way and stimulate their imaginations. The children’s reactions to and uses of the activity kits proved that low-cost, creativity-boosting materials are highly effective to fight anxiety and stress among confined children.
A manual is being digitized and distributed online for free so that other families have access to quality information and recreational activities to do with their children.
More Resources
Key Recommendations for Cities in a COVID-19 World
12 Key Principles for an Effective Urban Response during COVID-19