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At Venezuela’s Hospital for Soft Toys, Old Toys Find New Life
One by one, volunteers rescue and repair toys that show the marks of use. They sew clothing and brush fur and hair, add filling and dress the toys. The workers are fixing them to again be given to children.
This is the work of the Hospital for Soft Toys, a project in Venezuela's capital, Caracas. The effort began with a mother's question: What do you do with all the toys once children outgrow them?
About 60 volunteers now meet at least twice a week. They work on Barbie dolls, toy bears and baby dolls that children have left behind. The group estimates it has recycled about 70,000 toys in the past seven years.
Its volunteers work faster around the Christmas holiday. Mirady Acosta is a 63-year-old architect who represents the Hospital for Soft Toys. She said the idea came from a teacher named Lilian Gluck. In 2017, Gluck was looking for something to do with her children’s toys as they grew older.
Volunteers Aides Jimenez, left, and Miriam Goodman, discuss the best way to restore a recycled doll at the non-profit foundation Hospital de los Peluches, or Hospital of Stuffed Animals, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
She did not want to throw them out or let them fall apart. She decided to wash them, fix them up and donate them to children staying in the University Hospital of Caracas.
The effort was popular. So, a few months later, she opened the Hospital for Soft Toys at her home. It is a nonprofit foundation that also collects and repairs other toys and educational games. The foundation receives donations from other countries that can include school supplies, diapers, shoes, food and candy.
All have been welcomed in a country that has seen years of economic crisis and renewed political unrest after July's election.
A volunteer washes recycled dolls to donate them to vulnerable children as Christmas presents, at the non-profit foundation Hospital of Stuffed Animals, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Silvia Heiber has volunteered for almost three years. She is 72 years old. She said that smoothing a soft toy's fur or fixing a doll's hair for another child to care for is also helpful for the volunteers.
"By doing this, all of us who come here are in therapy, a therapy of support for one another," Heiber said.
Irelis Baldirio hangs laundered used dolls to dry at the non-profit foundation Hospital of Stuffed Animals, Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Mirna Morales is a 76-year-old teacher and volunteer. She called it "one of the best experiences I've ever had."
María Poleo, who is 84 years old, said the work is not difficult because all the volunteers know how to make or repair clothing.
On some days, it seems there are not enough toys to repair. But then someone arrives at the door with more boxes and bags full of toys.
Volunteers recycle and restore used toys to donate them to vulnerable children as Christmas presents at the non-profit foundation Hospital de los Peluches, or Hospital of Stuffed Animals, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
The toys are delivered to hospitals and schools in poor areas, but also to homes for older people — anyone "who needs a little bit of affection," Heiber said.
Each restored doll comes with a message advising its new owner to recycle it when they no longer want it.
"Hello, I am your new friend," it says. "I am a doll with experience because I played with another girl. Love me and take care of me and I will do the same with you. When you grow up, give me to another girl who will love me and play with me like you."
I’m Jill Robbins.
Jorge Rueda and Juan Pablo Arráez reported this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English.
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Words in This Story
toy –n. an object for children to play with
brush – v. to clean or smooth (something) with a brush
fur – n. the hairy coat of an animal especially when it is soft and thick
outgrow – v. to grow too large for (someone or something)
recycle – v. to make something new from (something that has been used before)
architect –n. a person whose job it is to design buildings
foundation –n. an organization usually that administers money and support for a cause like health care or education
diaper – n. a piece of cloth or other material that is placed between a baby's legs and fastened around the waist to hold body waste
therapy – n. the treatment of physical or mental illnesses that does not use drugs
affection – n. a feeling of liking and caring for someone or something
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