“We are so grateful to World Vision for bringing joy to our children. They have suffered since the October earthquake, but now you can see the happiness on their faces,” said tribesman and father of six, Noor Khani Gul.

As children in the mountain village of Sehri in the isolated tribal area of Kala Dhaka embraced the soft toys knitted by kind-hearted Australians, their faces lit up with joy and disbelief.

The reaction is similar elsewhere across Mansehra district in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province where in many cases, these tend to be the only toys children are likely to possess.

The knitted dolls and teddy bears are being distributed by World Vision Pakistan to quake affected parts of the province.

We are so grateful to World Vision for bringing joy to our children. They have suffered since the October earthquake, but now you can see the happiness on their faces...

Frank Lyman, Operations Manager for World Vision Pakistan in Mansehra said: “Dedicated individuals spend hours knitting the toys in Australia to help light up the lives of children they will or may never meet. If only they could see how happy the children are to receive them, they would know how much their efforts are appreciated.”

The toys come from World Vision Australia via the Guardian Angel programme run by the country’s Guardian Pharmacies.

This year’s knitting campaign runs from June 1 through to August 31. Last year the programme encouraged supporters to knit toys and warm children’s clothes, and saw more than 100, 000 people produce 340, 000 items.

Thousands have been sent to the children of northern Pakistan.

Lyman adds, “It may seem a small thing to many people but here the children received the toys with such gratitude. It was very moving to see. Some families lost everything in the earthquake. For many children, the doll or bear will be their one and only prized toy.”

Non-Food-Items including corrugated galvinised iron sheets, rehabilitation kits, tarpaulins, mattresses, kitchen sets, quilts, blankets and jackets reached more than 100,000 people through a partnership between World Vision and Bright Education Society over the past six weeks, after months of sensitive negotiations and preparations with leaders from the five Black Mountain tribes.

If only they could see how happy the children are to receive them, they would know how much their efforts are appreciated...

In addition, packets of vegetable seeds including cauliflower, turnip, radish, pea and tomato were distributed to 455 extremely vulnerable households (approximately 4,550 people) in July at the request of the tribal elders to help improve the nutritional intake of children.

It is hoped that the same children who are lovingly embracing their toys will also thrive on the nutrients provided by healthy vegetables in the coming months.