Inside the "play labs" helping refugee kids heal | Erum Mariam

TED Talks Daily

Educational leader Erum Mariam discusses the implementation of 'Humanitarian Play Labs' designed to help Rohingya refugee children heal from

Key takeaways

• Generic games like Scrabble and Uno were ineffective because refugee children lacked the language and cultural context to play them.
• The Humanitarian Play Lab utilizes traditional Rohingya rhymes, physical games, and art to foster psychological healing.

Main topics

• Rohingya refugee crisis
• Humanitarian Play Labs

Notable quotes

It was specifically play from their own Rohingya culture that helped them feel pride, gain confidence and experience joy.

Conclusion

Culturally relevant play is a vital tool for psychological recovery an

Transcript preview

Speaker 5 (0:02) You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. A heads up before we start, this episode includes discussion of genocide and violence against children. Please take care in deciding whether and when to listen. In 2017, more than 800,000 Rohingya people fled genocide in Myanmar, crowding into sprawling refugee camps in Bangladesh. Many were children who had seen things no child ever should. Educational leader Arum Maryam has spent three decades bringing play to children in crisis through the BRAC Institute of Educational Development, one of the world's largest nonprofits based in Bangladesh. So when she got the call to visit one of these camps, she went, hoping to help these children heal. She learned something unexpected. Speaker 3 (0:54) The children had never seen these games before. They didn't know the rules. They didn't speak the language. Even the adult facilitators didn't know how to play. They were arranging the scrabble tiles into patterns because that's what made sense to them. Standing there, I thought, there's got to be a better way. In her talk, Irum Speaker 5 (1:14) shares what she learned, that it wasn't enough just to give these children something to play with. It had to be play they recognized. Working with her team, she built what she calls the Humanitarian Play Lab, spaces designed by the Rohingya community itself, filled with the games, rhymes, and art the children remembered from home. Speaker 3 (1:34) It was specifically play from their own Rohingya culture that helped them feel pride. gain confidence and experience joy after being violently forced to leave behind their home. Speaker 5 (1:47) Irum introduces us to several of the kids whose lives these play labs changed. More than 50,000 children so far. And she makes the case that every child deserves the right to play their own play. That's coming up right after a short break. Speaker 1 (2:08) Support comes from WISE, the smart way to manage the currencies you need around the world. Your life is global. Your money should be too. Some providers promise no fees on overseas transfers. Don't be fooled. Extra costs often hide in bloated exchange rates. Choose WISE. You can send, spend and receive money in over 40 currencies. Count on the exchange rates that you'd usually see on Google. That's how millions save billions on hidden fees. Be smart. Get WISE. Visit WISE.com. How Speaker 4 (2:41) do you build a career you're proud of? It's easy to get caught up in the impact you hope to have or the legacy you want to leave behind. But how much of that is actually within your control? Speaker 6 (2:52) Something that I believe is that legacy is totally Speaker 4 (2:55) out of your control. Like legacy is something that other people determine. But what is in your control is contribution and your actions around that. I really grew up, you know, into my 20s, maybe even 30s, thinking that, that like, if I didn't do something that meaningful and important, then like, I hadn't done something worthwhile. Find out how to build a career you're proud of in this episode of my podcast, Work Life, featuring actress and director Bryce Dallas Howard. And don't worry, we'll get into the Neville baby conversation. I'm Molly Graham, and you can find Work Life, a podcast from TED, wherever you listen. Speaker 6 (3:42) And Speaker 5 (3:42) now, our TED Talk of the day. Speaker 3 (3:44) In August 2017, the genocide in Myanmar had exploded overnight. The military were killing Rohingya people, setting their villages on fire. This was part of the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people. The women and men who had escaped were now flooding across the border, carrying infants and young children on their back. Within four months, over