Meeting of generations at PLAYMOBIL Funpark

Aug. 9, 2011 - PRLog -- As part of this initiative, entitled the ‘Nannu Project’, four retired gentlemen, namely Carmel Cauchi, Tony C. Cutajar, Frank Schembri and Albert McCarthy have been spending time with children visiting the PLAYMOBIL FunPark, engaging them through various activities including story-telling, art and crafts sessions and passing on knowledge and hands on experience about traditional games and toys.

For these four ‘Nannus’, as they are called by everybody at the PLAYMOBIL FunPark, interacting with children has been a lifelong vocation: Carmel Cauchi and Tony C. Cutajar are both established authors of books for children, while artist Frank Schembri is himself an illustrator of children’s books. Albert McCarthy is better known for his work in the voluntary sector and as an animator, especially in the guise of ‘Santa Klaws’ over the yuletide season. All are retired teachers. A fifth ‘Nannu’, Anthony Camilleri, one of the first to take up the idea and lead its development, passed away recently, before he could see the project come to fruition and he is fondly remembered by his ‘Nannu’ mates and the PLAYMOBIL Funpark team.

All four agree that they got involved because contact and interaction with children keeps them feeling alive. Being able to continue contributing something to society and the fact that they feel needed also keeps them motivated: “If I stop doing things I’ll die”, states Tony C. Cutajar. “We pass on experiences and knowledge to children in an informal environment, and we do so treating them as equals, by interacting and through play” says Albert McCarthy.  Frank Schembri is impressed by children’s fascination with traditional Maltese toys and games: “Today’s children are no different from what we were - show them a toy or a game and they remain enthralled, as do their parents after all”. Carmel Cauchi’s message to his contemporaries is to get involved: “Don’t die until you’re dead”, he says. Significantly, they all have the impression that not everybody admits that people like them still have a role to play in society.

PLAYMOBIL’s Marketing Manager Ms. Anna Agius encourages those in their ‘third age’, including women, to come forward and participate in this project, which she has labeled as “Play to Win”.  She strongly believes that this a “win-win situation where everybody benefits: the elderly get the satisfaction of knowing that they can still contribute effectively to society, and feel needed and appreciated, while the children can enjoy contact with people who have a lot to offer in terms of time, knowledge and experience, and all within the informal environment of the PLAYMOBIL FunPark”.

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