Toys are collected by children as playthings. Adults collect them as hobby pieces (although admit it, some adults still play with them just the same). While many would agree that toys are more than mere amusement piece – since they can serve as poignant reminders of one’s cherished bygone era, they can also help uplift broken spirits and communicate self-empowerment messages. Yes, toys can be doctors and wellness guru, too.
In the Philippines where Lego enthusiasm is fast emerging, an outreach project for the benefit of poor cancer-stricken children was held last summer by this writer, a Lego collector and outreach advocate through his Facebook hobby group, Society of Lego Cities (SLC), in partnership with PinoyLUG – the Lego User Group of the Philippines headed by its Ambassador Leslie Araujo. It had a theme called “EveryJuan is Awesome,” inspired by The Lego Movie’s themesong. The name “Juan” is the abbreviated Filipino equivalent of John Doe.
The vision of the project was to inspire the sick children and their parents to keep building their dreams and hope. This was done through a group Lego-building session participated by the children, their parents, the proponents’ friends and family, members of SLC and PinoyLUG, and other guest benefactors. They’re able to get to know each other by sharing stories, dreams, and struggles while they built together sets and original creations. The shattered Lego pieces served as a metaphor of the children’s condition, and through the joint building the group did, it expressed a message that no broken person cannot be rebuilt again and be shown as an awesome creation.
“Like the children before us who relentlessly fight their condition and refuse to be broken down, we must learn from them and be inspired by their example of resilience and hope,” this writer said in his welcome speech, who booked the event in time for his birthday to symbolize the aspired rebirth among the patients who wish to be reborn out of their ailments. “Lego symbolizes what these children are all about – broken pieces that can be, and will be, rebuilt into something awesome in limitless possibilities,” he further added. He rallied everyone to sustain their awesomeness. “Just like the event’s theme of ‘EveryJuan is Awesome,’ each one of us can be awesome in our respective ways: to oneself, to one’s society, and most importantly, to others.”
Leslie on his part saluted the young patients for their exceptional strength. “The patients, who face each day as a constant battle for their lives, are survivors and heroes whom we can all look up to and draw strength.” He recalled one example of optimistic spirit when he gave away PinoyLUG’s Lego minifigure freebies (who were coincidentally bald themselves). One patient remarked amusingly, “Wow! They’re bald like us!” He further revealed that the event became more meaningful and inspirational to him because like the kids’ parents, he too carries a burden of having a cancer-stricken loved one, and for this reason he felt empathy towards them. “I am happy that even for one day, we’re able to lighten the families’ burden and make them enjoy Lego. I want them to stay strong, always pray, and never give up,” he stressed.
SLC continued to institutionalize this kind of event by holding its second outreach project a few months later, in another center for sick children. It now aims to hold its third later this year – an art-for-a-cause mission – so that through the creativity that Lego espouses, destitute sick children can learn, create, and sell artworks so they can finance their own medical treatment.
Collecting toys can truly be and should be both fun and meaningful. After all, in all our acquired capacities and advantages, aren’t we adult collectors ought to put meaning in what we do?
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