Sarah Parson of Cedar Hills, Utah, has five children and a good heart. When she heard from a friend about refugee children in Greece who had nothing to play with in their camps but garbage and wildlife, she imagined her own children in their place. Her five are dedicated to their toys, and take so much joy in them.
Parson realized after that 2015 conversation that she could offer something to children in straits like that. She had always made dolls for her own girls, so she could make them for anyone.
She began immediately, founding Dolls of Hope, a charitable organization centered on sending children’s toys to refugee camps all over the world. As of 2017, they had sent over 10,000 toys to 23 countries. According to their most recent Facebook post, they are currently collecting for children in Syria, Uganda, Pakistan, and Kenya.
Parson began the effort, but she’s not making toys alone. Her Facebook group posts patterns and organizes crafting groups to make and send handsewn dolls and bears abroad. A recent shipment sent 1,200 stuffed toys from her local group to children separated from their parents at the Mexico-U.S. border.
“My hope is we are giving a little piece of their childhood back,” said Parson to Inside Edition. “That they can find comfort in that stuffed animal, or that doll. And that they can love that doll and hug that doll, even though they can’t hug their parents.”
Of her own commitment, she said: “While it may seem overwhelming or we think the problem is too big, we could never solve the problem. We can’t let that immobilize us to doing nothing because that doesn’t help. So we have to start where we are, doing what we can.”
Being a refugee is traumatizing. Being separated from one’s parents is traumatizing. Anything any of us can do to give play and childhood back to these effected children increases their chance of a successful future. Parson and her like are doing vital, needed work.