HEALING THROUGH PLAY

TINA THAKRAR CHATS WITH NEW JERSEY-BASED SHALINI MELWANI-SAMTANI OF OPEN THE JOY AND SPREAD THE JOY FOUNDATION ABOUT HOW SHE INVOKES POSITIVITY, HAPPINESS AND A SENSE OF EMOTIONAL WELLBEING IN KIDS THROUGH TOYS

- TINA THAKRAR

They say that it's when we face our toughest circumstances in life that we grow the most. A fantastic example of this is Shalini MelwaniSamtani, whose endurance, determination, and spirit during a time of trauma led to the creation of something beautiful. Born in Hong Kong and raised in Belize, Central America and Montreal, Canada, Shalini is the founder and chief joy architect at Open The Joy, a toy company that creates activity kits that develop emotional well-being and intelligence in kids, as well as Spread The Joy, a nonprofit that delivers free activity kits to hospitalised kids across the US.

Set up in 2019, Open The Joy and Spread The Joy stem. from Shalini's story of resilience, compassion and goodwill. The award-winning entrepreneur relies on her own experiences to help sick kids and their parents cope with difficult circumstances. An attorney by education, Shalini sped through the early years of her life. She got accepted into law school in the US at 18, graduated at 21, and married at 22. For the next few years, she dedicated her life to her family and kids. Along the way, she also acquired a second degree in design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

It was when her secondborn child was six months old that her life turned upside down. Her daughter was diagnosed with a rare medical disorder with no known cure, marking the beginning of a long period spent in paediatric hospitals. "It was a trying time for us, but one of the things that really helped my daughter was the time we spent on therapeutic play with art supplies, toys and games. I had this instant realisation that it could help other sick kids too, so I began to donate art supplies to the hospital."