Today in Social class, our social teacher, Mrs. Shepherd (she is amazing!) brought a whole pile of toys. It was May long weekend and she decided that we should play. Mrs. Shepherd had to persuade her two year old son to bring his toys to school. Of course, Mrs. Shepherd always has an interesting lesson attached. I love her teaching methods, they always stay in my mind!
Anyways, if you were wondering what our lesson was about, it was about how toys that were made in China had to get reimbursed because the paint contained a chemical called Lead. It is very harmful to us and it was in children's toys. This reminded me of how Globalization effected the Congo. Everything that we have that is linked electronically is linked back to the Congo. The Congo is rich in many resources you can think of but the people are still suffering.
After our little lesson, I started to think about the children in the Congo. What kind of toys do they play with? What kind of games do they play?
To the internet! :D
Congolese childern mainly play Soccer or Football depending what country you are from. I'm from Canada I prefer the sport to be called Soccer. Boys don't use an actually soccer ball. Guess what they use?
A grapefruit!They are sour. Or anything that is round! :D That is awfully interesting! That would really hurt.... ^_^
They even make their own! These kids are really creative!!
Something I found out is that kids make models of planes or trucks out of balsa wood and clay. Little kids roll around with a tires. Boys also love to play tag or even swim in the nearest river and play. I miss being a kid (a teenager is technically a kid but I never have the time to play!). I love to play tag!
Congolese girls usually don't play as much as the boys. They start to help their mother at the age of five. But the girls do what girls in Canada do. They play jump rope (I love jump rope!), talk, dance, sing in choirs of their own (amazing!), play with each others hair and dress up.
A game girls love to play is Tobeta Maboko. The game goes like this, kids face each other clap their hands and jump to a certain rhtymn. Whoever can last the longest with the right feet placement at the right time, they win!
Congolese children are quite lucky to have the time to play. Since many of them are orphans, the older kids don't have the time to play. They have to take care of their familes that might consist of many children. Some children are sent to become Child soldiers or to work at mines at a very young to earn money for their starving familes. Females are often raped and shunned from their own community.
It was a bit difficult to find Congolese children and their toys but I found a video about kids and tennis! It was very interesting. Since these children basically have nothing, they make use of things such as garbage or scraps that lay around and turn them into toys!
Kids also go to school. Familes have to pay a fee in order for their kids to attend. But if they don't have enough money, they always send the males instead of the females. They believe males need more education and females will only get some education. Females are ment to be at home, doing the chores and help the mother. Congolese kids sometimes have to walk long distances to go to school. Or even stay with relatives or in a dorm because the school is that far. On weekends, they go home.
My friends family are missionaries. They tell me that in Africa the churches are more active. I looked it up and in the Congo, the people get up and sing and dance! At my church, they would sing but rarely dance. We have guitars, a piano and drums. In the Congo, they have singers in choirs. Sometimes they have a traditional drum but thats pretty much it. I can't remember what part of Africa my friend was saying but the people don't have an actual building to worship their god so they go under a random mango tree!
I got my information here! It is such an interesting site so check it out!
http://www.paulcarlson.org/for-kids-families/life-in-congo/
Spread the word!
Anyways, if you were wondering what our lesson was about, it was about how toys that were made in China had to get reimbursed because the paint contained a chemical called Lead. It is very harmful to us and it was in children's toys. This reminded me of how Globalization effected the Congo. Everything that we have that is linked electronically is linked back to the Congo. The Congo is rich in many resources you can think of but the people are still suffering.
After our little lesson, I started to think about the children in the Congo. What kind of toys do they play with? What kind of games do they play?
To the internet! :D
Congolese childern mainly play Soccer or Football depending what country you are from. I'm from Canada I prefer the sport to be called Soccer. Boys don't use an actually soccer ball. Guess what they use?
A grapefruit!
They even make their own! These kids are really creative!!
Something I found out is that kids make models of planes or trucks out of balsa wood and clay. Little kids roll around with a tires. Boys also love to play tag or even swim in the nearest river and play. I miss being a kid (a teenager is technically a kid but I never have the time to play!). I love to play tag!
Congolese girls usually don't play as much as the boys. They start to help their mother at the age of five. But the girls do what girls in Canada do. They play jump rope (I love jump rope!), talk, dance, sing in choirs of their own (amazing!), play with each others hair and dress up.
A game girls love to play is Tobeta Maboko. The game goes like this, kids face each other clap their hands and jump to a certain rhtymn. Whoever can last the longest with the right feet placement at the right time, they win!
Congolese children are quite lucky to have the time to play. Since many of them are orphans, the older kids don't have the time to play. They have to take care of their familes that might consist of many children. Some children are sent to become Child soldiers or to work at mines at a very young to earn money for their starving familes. Females are often raped and shunned from their own community.
It was a bit difficult to find Congolese children and their toys but I found a video about kids and tennis! It was very interesting. Since these children basically have nothing, they make use of things such as garbage or scraps that lay around and turn them into toys!
Kids also go to school. Familes have to pay a fee in order for their kids to attend. But if they don't have enough money, they always send the males instead of the females. They believe males need more education and females will only get some education. Females are ment to be at home, doing the chores and help the mother. Congolese kids sometimes have to walk long distances to go to school. Or even stay with relatives or in a dorm because the school is that far. On weekends, they go home.
My friends family are missionaries. They tell me that in Africa the churches are more active. I looked it up and in the Congo, the people get up and sing and dance! At my church, they would sing but rarely dance. We have guitars, a piano and drums. In the Congo, they have singers in choirs. Sometimes they have a traditional drum but thats pretty much it. I can't remember what part of Africa my friend was saying but the people don't have an actual building to worship their god so they go under a random mango tree!
I got my information here! It is such an interesting site so check it out!
http://www.paulcarlson.org/for-kids-families/life-in-congo/
Spread the word!
I MAY be biased, but I loved this post. Thanks Manga Girl! What a neat look into the lives of the children in the DRC. It is really neat to see how different life is. I do think that a class trip is in order...
ReplyDeleteYes! We must go to the DRC! It would be exciting!
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