Let’s Play Together is a project I co-lead with a couple of other volunteers and McLain Association for Children (MAC) that provides an opportunity for children of all abilities to learn, play, and engage with each other. Someone very special to me taught me at a young age why this is important and I dedicate this blog post to Natasha.

Every Friday, my mother’s side of the family gets together, and we share a feast together. I have moved away, but they still do this in my original hometown. When I was a child, I was fortunate that my great-grandmother was still alive and I was able to get to know her. Up until her death, the entire family would gather around my great grandmother’s table. Now, we gather around my grandparents’ table. Each Friday, we spend hours chatting and eating. When I was about 5 years old, my sister, Shereen, and I thought my mom’s first cousin, Natasha, was the coolest. At the time, Natasha lived with my great grandmother. We were very interested in Barbies and Natasha, my mom’s cousin, was also interested in them! In fact, I think Natasha was sometimes more invested in the storylines that our Barbies’ lived than we were.

Natasha was only a few years younger than my mother. Therefore, we absolutely loved the fact that a grown adult wanted to play Barbies with us for hours on end. As we got older, Shereen and I began noticing that Natasha was the only adult who was interested. We were confused why did Natasha not have her own family or do things like the other adults did. As young children, we did not complain because she was an awesome playmate. My mother explained that Natasha was special and has a warm heart, but her brain developed a little differently. Not fully understanding that concept, we continued playing barbies with Natasha every Friday in her room for a few years.

As Shereen and I grew older, we also grew out of our Barbies phase. Natasha did not. It got really awkward telling her that, “No, Natasha, we don’t want to play Barbies with you today.” I was 11 years old and I looking back, I want to punch my 11-year-old self in the face. Natasha had a mental disability and although she had an adult body, she never developed an adult state of mind. Natasha was patient and offered to play other games with us. I can’t remember what other games she offered, but I knew that Shereen and I probably broke her heart because we weren’t interested in the other games she offered.

At the time, my original hometown did not have resources or centers for persons with disabilities. In fact, there was still a stigma and misunderstandings regarding disabilities, mental or physical.  My grandfather did a lot of innovative things for his niece, Natasha. However, she still spent most of her time living with her grandmother and most of the time isolated. My family loved her and included her in our family activities, but I know that she felt different.

In the year 2000, my parents, sisters, and I moved thousands of miles away. Therefore, we only saw Natasha during the summers when we visited. A few years after that, when I was 18, my great-grandmother passed away. Natasha moved next door to live with her first cousins in her own small apartment that as above the cousins’ house. When I was still in college, Natasha passed away, alone, when she was about 35 years old. I do not remember the last conversation I had with her. Yet, the only thing that kept on looping over and over in my mind was the memory of me telling Natasha, “No, I do not feel like playing Barbies with you today.” Shereen felt the same way. We felt immense guilt for some reason. My mother told us, “Do not worry, Natasha, knows that you two loved her.”

Regardless, I always felt that I needed to do something that honors Natasha’s life. I just never knew how, until now. A little over a year ago, my sitemate Karen, a G15, co-lead a Peace Corps project called “Let’s Play Together” (LPT). This project is a partnership with the McLain Foundation for Children in Georgia and Peace Corps Volunteers. We create one-day events in various towns and villages in Georgia, mostly in underserved villages. In these events, children and young adults of all abilities play, dance, create art, play tug-of-war, and other fun activities throughout the day. In the last couple of years, we had hundreds of children participate in Khashuri, Batumi, Sachkere, Terjola, Kutaisi, Rustavi, Gori, Poti, Ozurgeti, and even Tbilisi.

Karen pulled me into the project and after she finished her Peace Corps service, I took over her role as the logistics person for Let’s Play Together. I currently co-lead this project with my friend Courtney. We have led four amazing events in this school year and we are currently in the process of handing the project over to the two amazing G17s for them to run the project next year. I truly feel like this project helps me honor Natasha’s life and provides a way for me to make an impact in Georgia, specifically for young Georgians with various and different abilities.

Like Natasha, Georgians with different abilities, specifically outside of Tbilisi, have very little resources and opportunities. Many face stigmas and the community still believes in this crazy myths surrounding disabilities. One time, I heard a story, that If I remember correctly, a little boy in an underserved village became bedridden because the family was told that the child was not supposed to go outside or do anything due to his condition. The boy would not have been bedridden if the family was properly educated. Basically, the child became MORE disadvantaged due to the stigma and lack of education regarding disabilities. I was dumbfounded.

In June 2017, we hosted a Let’s Play Together event in the town of Khashuri. That Saturday morning, it started to rain. Karen and Courtney O., the G15s who ran the committee before Courtney A. and me, expressed concern regarding the event. I remember telling Karen, “why does it matter if it rains?! It rains all the time in Georgia and life moves on.” Then Karen told me the shocking news that an old Georgian wife’s tale if a person with a disability is in the rain, that his/her disability will worsen. Sure enough, only two children with disabilities showed up. The other parents were concerned about their children because it was raining. Luckily enough, by 10:30 a.m., the sun started peaking through the clouds. We called many parents to remind them of the event. We had more children with disabilities come, but still, the number of participating children could have been higher if it weren’t for the rain.

Another story, not related to Let’s Play Together, but still worth mentioning is the healing myths of Ureki’s magnetic beach sand. Ureki is a town in the western part of Georgia along the coast of the Black Sea. The beach is absolutely gorgeous; the sand is black and fine. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, it is said that “it heals people with its disabilities.” Justin and I have been to this beach a couple of times. We will see many children with wheelchairs lying on the beach. I do not have words for this, except to say, that I doubt that this myth is scientifically supported. Many Georgians that I have met swear by this and the beach’s healing powers. I find it upsetting because a lot of children with disabilities are tucked away in their family homes. They are not active in society. Yet, I will find children of various abilities on the beach with their parents praying close by. Here is another blog post in which describes briefly where the healing powers come from.

This is one of the reasons why Let’s Play Together is such a great project. MAC provides all sorts of resources for the event. Physical therapists attend the event and help us. We have games that involve everybody- regardless of level. Our games are intriguing, involving mind and body and creating a bond between the participants and youth volunteers.

Therefore, Let’s Play Together has such a simple concept, yet it is very impactful. Having an event in which children of various abilities play together demystifies our differences. Through games and dance, we all realize we are more alike than different. Every person on this earth has value and can create impact. It is important that we create a safe space in which people of all backgrounds feel valued and appreciated in life. The event may be only a few hours long, but I know that it means a lot for our participants and volunteers. It means a lot to me to be a part of such a strong and impactful project during my service.