NEW YORK — The LEGO Foundation has committed $97 million to expand International Rescue Committee (IRC) programs that use play to aid learning and recovery for children in conflict zones. The five-year partnership aims to reach 5 million children across East Africa and the Middle East.

The investment will scale up an IRC-led initiative called PlayMatters, which trains teachers of 3- to 12-year-olds to integrate playful learning into lessons. Rather than dictate curriculum, the program helps educators tailor instruction to the needs of children traumatized by crises. PlayMatters leaders also advocate for education funding at the national level, working with government officials to embed their materials into national curricula.

Countries under consideration for the program include Ethiopia, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Uganda. In classrooms using PlayMatters, children learn colors through games involving sharing fruits like mangoes and bananas, build confidence through class presentations, and develop leadership by guiding small groups. A radio show broadcast from Ethiopia to Tanzania helps children name their emotions through episodes in multiple languages featuring culturally familiar characters.

“We need first to make sure that children are alive. We can introduce the education when they are stabilized,” said PlayMatters Project Director Martin Omukuba. He added that the team is expanding digitally delivered multimedia lessons, such as the radio show, to reach schools in South Sudan that are inaccessible due to flooding for half the year.

LEGO Foundation CEO Sidsel Marie Kristensen said in a podcast interview, “In the world we are living in right now, nobody knows honestly what is happening tomorrow or in two months. That (flexibility) is what we need right now.” She pledged to focus on children “in the most dire contexts.” She also said, “That is so needed in a world right now where the development aid is decreasing,” referring to recent cuts in international assistance by the United States and many European nations.

IRC President David Miliband said, “Children who are born in conflict have their childhood stolen from them. But what’s remarkable about children is that if you give them a bit of their childhood back, they make the most of it. And this is about giving the best of childhood back.” The LEGO Foundation provides flexible funding so the IRC can respond to the fluid nature of conflicts, including sudden changes in refugee class sizes and associated needs like sanitation and nutrition.