Volunteers from local churches organize toy drive for Afghan children

Hundreds of toys have been dropped off at Karen Montague's doorstep in Wayland over the past month

She's among many volunteers of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Weston and Trinity Episcopal Church in Concord who have collected donated toys and will personally deliver them to Afghan families who are sheltered in Cambridge, Revere and Lynn, as well as in Manchester and Merrimack, New Hampshire.

The toy drive started on Dec. 20 and ended Friday, said Montague, who also helps with providing food and clothing for Afghan refugees.

"When I watched those images on TV that everybody else saw, your heart just goes out to these people, and you want to help," said Montague, referring to the Afghan refugee crisis that was triggered by the U.S. withdrawal last summer. "We've just gotten to know these families and these kids and it just became clear as much as they need the basics, they also need some toys."

Donations have numbered in the hundreds in the last few weeks, said Montague.

Puzzles, mini-basketballs, bongo drums and soft blocks sets are some of the many toys that aim to supply children with developmental activities while being careful for limitations, said Montague.

"We've had to be somewhat specific with the toys, because these are Muslim families and they're conservative and we want to be respectful of that," she said. "Also, most of them don't speak English, so we don't send anything that requires knowing English or anything to do with war or violence."

A toy registry was set up at Cloud Nine Toys in Sudbury, where those interested could purchase toys that were donated to Afghan children.

Toni Caushi is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tcaushi@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @tcaushi.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Local drive supplies Afghan refugee children with hundreds of developmental toys.