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Let them play: Why joy is a lifeline for children in crisis

Around the globe, children facing conflict, displacement and climate emergencies are healing and finding resilience and hope through play. Here's how Plan International is creating environments where children can recover, thrive and enjoy being young. Plan International creates safe spaces, supports schools and community programs, provides mobile libraries and play buses, and integrates play into education and child protection initiatives worldwide.

Why Play Matters for Children in Crisis

A boy runs barefoot beside a rolling bike tire, guiding it with a stick in a game called “Sticks and Wheels.” A girl skips rope with a laundry line. Children tie string to rusted cans, dragging them behind like clattering parade floats. Another fashions a toy car from a plastic bottle, tugging it proudly across the dirt with a piece of twine. In the heat, they gather beneath mango trees to clap, chant and laugh through hand games. And when the rains come, they stomp and splash barefooted under the torrential downpour — soaked, singing and smiling, completely unbothered.

This might sound idyllic; however for many children, safe places to play and the equipment to do so simply didn’t exist. There are no playgrounds.

Play isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity. It’s how children recover from trauma, build resilience, develop critical skills and connect with the world around them. It’s how they stay kids, even when the world feels anything but safe.

On June 10, 2026, The International Day of Play, we spotlit the children and communities who remind us that play is never just play. From war zones to drought zones and from early childhood centers to football fields, here’s how Plan International is making space for joy — through programs designed to protect childhood and promote learning, healing and equality.

Moldova: The Mobile Play Bus 

The Ludobus — short for “play bus” — is a traveling toy library filled with educational games, books and puzzles. It visits villages and refugee centers across Moldova, creating joyful spaces for children and relief for mothers affected by the conflict in Ukraine. As children engage in play, mothers can rest or meet privately with psychologists to discuss their needs in a safe, supported environment.

Poland: Empowering Children With Disabilities through Play

After fleeing Ukraine, Nataliia found support for her daughter Alesia, a child with special needs, through Plan-supported therapeutic play sessions. There, Alesia began to thrive again. For this family, play is more than fun — it’s foundational.

Radical Joy: The Impact of Play for Communities in Crisis

For children affected by conflict, displacement, disasters and poverty, safe opportunities to play can build resilience, empower kids, make communities safer and pave the way for brighter and more just figures. That’s why Plan creates these spaces — in classrooms, on dirt fields and even through mobile buses. Play is more than recreation; it is transformative and healing. Psychosocial support through play uses games, creative activities and structured recreation to help children process experiences, strengthen coping skills and improve well-being.

Across continents and crises, these moments of joy reveal something deeper: play is a lifeline. And a declaration that childhood matters, even in the hardest places. Play is an experience that should be universal for all children; regardless of their country of origin or circumstances in life. It strengthens relationships in the community, provides a sense of normalcy during crisis, and inspires.

Links:

• https://planusa.org/news-resources/blog/let-them-play-why-joy-is-a-lifeline-for-children-in-crisis/#