Cotlands recently hosted its annual World Play Day event for 300 children at the Old Civic Centre in Macassar.
Cotlands is a regionally based South African non-profit organisation that focuses on play-based learning for children aged zero to six years by means of toy libraries and early learning playgroups. These services have given children from marginalised communities the opportunity to learn through play and attend early childhood development (ECD) centres at no cost.
Lucille George, the event’s coordinator and Western Cape mobile toy librarian, said the event was hosted by 33 practitioners and 24 volunteers as well as various leaders from the community.
“Cotlands Western Cape celebrated the event in the old civic centre with 11 ECD centers from Macassar, Khayelitsha and Strand,” she said. “The theme for the day was Rediscover Play and Recover through Play. Our team consisted of 10 volunteers who assisted us to make this event possible.”
George added that the event showcased and introduced indigenous games to the children. “The teachers played these indigenous games with the children, bringing back memories from on how we played without having expensive toys as children. We were also reminded of the value and discipline these games taught us as children.”
Each participating child also received a nutritious meal and a goodie bag to add to the fun of the day.
