Youth union members in Nghệ An Province making toys from old tyres for local children. Photo congly.vn

NGHỆ AN – With creative and skilful hands, young people have turned old discarded tyres into useful toys for poor children in Nghệ An Province.

Nghĩa Đức Commune of Nghĩa Đàn District is in a remote, mountainous area where ethnic children have limited opportunity to use playground equipment.

In an effort to help the children in the highlands, more than 30 of the province’s youth union members and young people came up with the idea of ​​using recycled materials such as car and motorbike tyres, wooden boards and used materials from daily living to make toys for the children, building an interesting playground while protecting the environment.

To make the toys more appealing and engaging, they are decorated by painting and drawing funny shapes on them.

This activity has been much appreciated by local people and children who now have playground equipment to use during the summer.

Lục Thị Hà My living in Nung Hamlet told congly.vn: “I am very happy that there is such a beautiful children's playground near my house. The toys are made from colourful painted tyres. I like them so much that I come to play every day."

Children enjoy their new toys. Photo congly.vn

Making toys for children from recycled tyres, iron bars, chains and other materials seems simple at first, but in fact, creating beautiful, age-appropriate toys is not easy, requiring care and meticulousness so that the finished product is safe for children, close to nature and also stimulates children's motor development and creative thinking, said Hồ Đức Đại, the union’s secretary of Nghĩa Đức Commune.

Before making the toys, the tyres, iron, bars, wooden boards and chains must be well cleaned. The finished products are painted on the surfaces and the welds are checked carefully to ensure safety for children, said Đại.

He said: “This is a very practical model for the ethnic minority children in the commune. The union wishes to receive further support from authorities at all levels so this model can be replicated, contributing to creating safe places for children to play, especially during the summer."

A toy made from old tyres. Photo congly.vn

In Nghĩa An Commune, the enthusiastic atmosphere of creating a "Fairy Garden" playground for children at the cultural house of An Phú Hamlet by union members is also taking place in a vibrant and exciting atmosphere.

The main materials to create this playground are also old car and motorbike tyres which union members and young people requested from car and motorbike garages.

With the creative and skilful hands of volunteers, the old tyres suddenly became funny animal-shaped toys, swings, seesaws and flower beds in the playground.

Painted with colours, the old tyres also become impressive decorative objects in the garden’s clubhouse.

The 70sq.m "Fairy Garden" playground is now more beautiful with vibrant colours and unique toys.

Đậu Đức Giang, youth union’s secretary of Nghĩa An Commune, said: “The model of recycling old tyres into toys for children is a meaningful and practical activity.”

“The youth members not only create a playground for children but also evoke in children a sense of saving and protecting the environment as well as cultivating their rich imagination and creativity,” said Giang.

In the coming time, the union of Nghĩa Đàn District plans to expand the model to other communes, said Võ Đức Tùng, the youth union’s secretary of Nghĩa Đàn District.

“Using recycled materials to make utensils and toys for children has saved a significant amount of costs, while also educating children on environmental protection awareness,” said Tùng.

“Thanks to its novelty, diverse designs and rich colours, and unlike mass-produced toys on the market, children really like them. In the future, we will replicate this model to communes and towns in the district,” he said.

The lack of entertainment areas for children, especially in the countryside, is a problem that needs attention today.

Lacking places to play, many children, especially in rural and mountainous areas, ask each other to fly kites or play soccer on the street, or go swimming in rivers and streams, without foreseeing the dangers that have resulted in many accidents.

Therefore, creating playgrounds for children is an extremely necessary and useful job. VNS