Harold Brown, the director of welfare for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, told us of an experience he had he was visiting an orphanage in Liberia, Africa.
He tells us that when they arrived there were about 70 homeless children and few adults. A container arrived that had been sent for the orphanage. When his group opened the container, the first thing they did was feed the children suffering from hunger. The next thing they did was cloth them because they were mostly naked. And then he said two boxes came out that were filled with Happy Factory toys.
He expressed his feelings: “I always thought a toy was just a play thing. I’ve been involved in food, clothing & medical supplies all my life.”
As the missionaries passed the toys out to the children, they just held and looked at the little wooden objects because they didn’t know what toys were. They had never had a toy. So, the missionaries got down in the dirt with the toys. In a couple of seconds there were some grins. In a couple of minutes there were 70 happy children.
He told us he was so grateful that he was able to witness the magic of a toy in the hands of a child. With the tears running down his cheeks, Harold Brown realized that Happy Factory had not just sent “play things”, they had sent boxes of happiness.