Friendship Balls Bring Joy to Others

Most of the remote areas that these Friendship Balls went to, the children only had rocks and sticks to play with.  Several stories came back with similar accounts stating that the first day the child would just hold the Friendship Ball, not believing that they didn't have to share and that the ball was actually their own.  The second day they would look at each others' Ball, carefully examining the colors.  By the third day, each child knew which ball belonged to which child.  Then the fun would begin.  Games of all sorts would be played throughout the day.  The parents of the children seemed to be as grateful for them as the children themselves.

One story from Iraq was particularly touching.  Because there were so many children who were casualties of war, a box of Friendship Balls was given to an American soldier who was serving in the hospital in Bagdad.  After treating a child, he would reach into his coat pocket and hand that child a colorful Friendship Ball.  Each smile that the soldier received, made him hope that these children would grow up thinking favorably about Americans.

One year Friendship Balls were given to a deaf school in Haiti.  Because of the children's disability they were  outcasts in their own area.  The Balls were received with great gladness.

World Joy, Operation Smile and similar charity organizations also reported joyful responses to the Friendship Balls.

In some countries, the Friendship Balls were used as learning incentives in the schools.

The Friendship balls that we sent the past ten years have gone to several countries in Africa, Brazil, Chili, countries in Central America, Haiti, Mexico,  Afghanistan, India, Russia, and Iraq.