In Léogâne, traditional Haitian games bring children back to play

LÉOGÂNE, Haiti — More than 200 people, including over 100 children, gathered Aug. 15 in the courtyard of Anacaona High School — about 21 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince — for the first edition of 'Ann Jwe Ansanm,' Haitian Creole for 'Let's Play Together,' The Haitian Times reported. For seven hours, children traded phones and screens for jump ropes, dominoes, cards, hopscotch, knucklebones, mancala, chess and other board games. The event, organized by the youth group Yogann An Mouvman (YAV), or 'Léogâne in Movement,' in partnership with the grassroots organization Integrated Women of Haiti (FIH), aimed to revive traditional Haitian games organizers say are disappearing from younger generations' daily lives. 'We must preserve our traditional games, which are in decline, revive them among young people and adults, but also practice them and promote their intergenerational transmission,' said Clifford Lanéus, YAV's assistant coordinator, according to The Haitian Times. Children from orphanages and care centers also attended with caregivers after receiving invitations from FIH. Several parents joined their children in play. Phara Bazile Laguerre, 49, who attended with her three children and a young neighbor, said she grew up playing traditional games and still plays them at home. 'We play cards and mancala, but mancala is my favorite game,' she said.