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Lively Minds was founded by Alison Naftalin, a British Government Lawyer, in 2008. Within one year and for just £3,000, Lively Minds had set up 10 Play Schemes reaching over 1,200 children and training over 250 volunteers, perfectly demonstrating how one lively mind can make a difference through passion and creativity. ​ In 2007 Alison spent 2 months volunteering in Ghana. She observed the complex challenges preventing children gaining access to quality education. She saw children weren’t given the opportunity to question or reason and as a result were lacking creative-thinking skills. She wanted to find a way to give children in rural Ghana opportunities to learn through play (as we do in the UK) as these techniques are crucial for a child’s development. ​ On her return to the UK she started researching the importance of learning through play in early childhood development, and calling on the expertise of trustees Dr Susanna Payne and Dr Amanda Sinai, Alison gave up her jo

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