Toybox is passionate about reaching the most disadvantaged children, young people and their families. We seek to care for the children, empower them and make their voices heard. Globally we seek to champion their cause.

advocacy n.
The act of pleading or arguing in favour of something, such as a cause, idea, or policy; active support.

Toybox seeks to be an advocate for the street children; to be a voice for them and to raise awareness of their plight in Latin America and across the world.

Latin America

Toybox is committed to doing all it can to help children who are already living on the streets of Latin America. However, the story doesn’t stop there. Prevention is better than cure and Toybox recognises the importance of reducing the factors which lead to children taking to a life on the streets. This means changing government policies and practice, communities and families so that they become child-friendly.

Out in Latin America, Toybox representatives are building relationships with local governments to raise awareness of street children and the issues they face, and to call for policies to protect them. Street children are often thought of as vermin, disposable and unwanted – by working alongside the local governments and officials, our partners are striving to ensure that governments protect children.

The children themselves are also calling for change. Toybox Child Ambassadors are by going out and meeting with community members and governments to talk to them about child rights and the good treatment of children. Toybox projects work with whole families as well as children, conducting workshops about good treatment of children, parental relationships, rights and responsibilities. By helping adults build relationships with their children, teams are able to reach local communities and groups to communicate with them the importance of mutual respect and care.

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Go on to: Advocacy in the UK

The ‘Good Treatment’ Vaccination Campaign

Toybox Child Ambassadors get involved with all kinds of fun and exciting activities. They get together once a month to learn about child rights, take part in art competitions, write poems, play games and plan child-centred campaigns. One of the campaigns that the Ambassadors have come up with is ‘Vaccinations Against Violence’.

How does the Vaccination work?

The children perform dramas and plays in the central squares and parks of the town, to attract attention.

* The Child Ambassadors speak to the gathered adults about the problem of violence in the home and explain that this is one of the main reasons children in Latin America go to live on the streets.

* Then they ‘vaccinate’ each adult who would like to take part by giving them a sticker, a sweet and a little vaccination card which the adult signs.

* On the card are the ingredients of a happy home – a little love, a bit of kindness, some understanding etc.

The Vaccination campaign has grown year on year, with more and more adults being reached. In 2009 an amazing 17,000 adults were reached in Cochabamba, Bolivia with the message of good treatment. This attracted the attention of local media and the local government who have decided to make September 2010 a month of good treatment for children in the city. This is an amazing achievement by the children.

If you want to support a Child Ambassador and help them to be a voice for change, please click here for more information on our sponsorship scheme.