This hospital in Venezuela restores discarded toys for another round of love

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The doll’s golden curls are intact and soon her head is, too. One by one, the toys that show the wear and tear of love are restored for the holidays: sewed and combed, stuffed and dressed.

From Barbie dolls to a Kung Fu Panda with a paw raised in triumph, the toys that have been left behind by children are made ready to be gifted once more.

This is the work of the Hospital for Soft Toys, a project in Venezuela's capital.

Its volunteers pick up the pace this time of year. It began with a mother's question: What to do with all the toys once children outgrow them?

Mirady Acosta, a 63-year-old architect who represents the Hospital for Soft Toys, said the idea came from Lilian Gluck, a teacher who in 2017 considered what to do as some of her children left the country.

Throw toys out? Let them fall apart? Neither were good options. She decided to wash them, fix them up and donate them to pediatric patients of the University Hospital of Caracas.

Months later, encouraged by the response, she opened the Hospital for Soft Toys at her home as a nonprofit foundation that also collects and restores other toys and educational games.

About 60 volunteers now meet at least twice a week. The project estimates it has recycled about 70,000 toys in the past seven years.

The foundation also receives donations from abroad that can include school supplies, diapers, shoes, food and candy.

All have been welcome in a country that has seen years of economic crisis and renewed political anxiety after July's election.

Restoring a soft toy's nubby fur or untangling a doll's hair for another round of affection is also helpful for the volunteers.

“By doing this, all of us who come here are in therapy, a therapy of support for one another,” said Silvia Heiber, 72, who has volunteered for almost three years.

Mirna Morales, a 76-year-old teacher and another volunteer, called it “one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.”

María Poleo, 84, was mending a giant stuffed animal. The work is not complicated, she said, as they all have been “seamstresses and menders at one time or another.”

On some days it seems the number of toys to repair runs low, but then the doorbell rings. And more boxes and bags have arrived.

The toys are delivered to hospitals and schools in poor neighborhoods, but also to homes for older people — anyone “who needs a little bit of affection,” Heiber said.

Each restored toy comes with a message encouraging its new owner to embrace the value of recycling.

“Hello, I am your new friend," it says. "I am a doll with experience because I played with another girl. Love me and take care of me and I will do the same with you. When you grow up give me to another girl who will love me and play with me like you.”

Andry Rincón contributed to this report in Caracas.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Volunteers organize boxes of used toys at the non-profit foundation Hospital de los Peluches, or Hospital of Stuffed Animals, where recycled toys are restored to be donated to vulnerable children as Christmas presents, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Volunteers Aides Jimenez, left, and Miriam Goodman, discuss the best way to restore a recycled doll at the non-profit foundation Hospital de los Peluches, or Hospital of Stuffed Animals, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

A volunteer looks through a selection of miniature doll shoes at the non-profit foundation Hospital de los Peluches, or Hospital of Stuffed Animals, where used toys are recycled and restored to donate them to vulnerable children as Christmas presents, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Volunteers restore used toys to donate them to vulnerable children as Christmas presents, at the non-profit foundation Hospital de los Peluches, or Hospital of Stuffed Animals, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

A volunteer dresses a used doll at the non-profit foundation Hospital de los Peluches, or Hospital of Stuffed Animals, where recycled toys are restored to be donated to vulnerable children as Christmas presents, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Stuffed animals restored by volunteers are stored until they can be donated to vulnerable children as Christmas presents at the non-profit foundation Hospital de los Peluches, or Hospital of Stuffed Animals, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

A volunteer washes recycled dolls to donate them to vulnerable children as Christmas presents, at the non-profit foundation Hospital de los Peluches, or Hospital of Stuffed Animals, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

A volunteer washes recycled toys at the non-profit foundation Hospital de los Peluches, or Hospital of Stuffed Animals, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Restored Barbie dolls are collected in a basket at the non-profit foundation Hospital de los Peluches, or Hospital of Stuffed Animals, where recycled toys are restored to be donated to vulnerable children as Christmas presents, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Volunteers recycle and restore used toys to donate them to vulnerable children as Christmas presents at the non-profit foundation Hospital de los Peluches, or Hospital of Stuffed Animals, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Irelis Baldirio hangs laundered used dolls to dry at the non-profit foundation Hospital de los Peluches, or Hospital of Stuffed Animals, where recycled toys are restored to be donated to vulnerable children as Christmas presents, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as an ongoing crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.

Trump said late Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports mount of increasing deaths and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night.

Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest in Iran, gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran cross checking information. It said at least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 people from the security forces. It said more than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

The Latest:

Iran drew tens of thousands of pro-government demonstrators to the streets Monday in a show of power after nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy.

Iranian state television showed images of demonstrators thronging Tehran toward Enghelab Square in the capital.

It called the demonstration an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism,” without addressing the underlying anger in the country over the nation’s ailing economy. That sparked the protests over two weeks ago.

State television aired images of such demonstrations around the country, trying to signal it had overcome the protests, as claimed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier in the day.

China says it opposes the use of force in international relations and expressed hope the Iranian government and people are “able to overcome the current difficulties and maintain national stability.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that Beijing “always opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs, maintains that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law, and opposes the use or threat of use of force in international relations.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned “in the strongest terms the violence that the leadership in Iran is directing against its own people.”

He said it was a sign of weakness rather than strength, adding that “this violence must end.”

Merz said during a visit to India that the demonstrators deserve “the greatest respect” for the courage with which “they are resisting the disproportional, brutal violence of Iranian security forces.”

He said: “I call on the Iranian leadership to protect its population rather than threatening it.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday suggested that a channel remained open with the United States.

Esmail Baghaei made the comment during a news conference in Tehran.

“It is open and whenever needed, through that channel, the necessary messages are exchanged,” he said.

However, Baghaei said such talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”

The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on Monday began calling out Iranian celebrities and leaders on social media who have expressed support for the protests over the past two weeks, especially before the internet was shut down.

The threat comes as writers and other cultural leaders were targeted even before protests. The news agency highlighted specific celebrities who posted in solidarity with the protesters and scolded them for not condemning vandalism and destruction to public property or the deaths of security forces killed during clashes. The news agency accused those celebrities and leaders of inciting riots by expressing their support.

Canada said it “stands with the brave people of Iran” in a statement on social media that strongly condemned the killing of protesters during widespread protests that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.

“The Iranian regime must halt its horrific repression and intimidation and respect the human rights of its citizens,” Canada’s government said on Monday.

Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.

Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim.

Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.

Iran’s foreign minister alleged Monday that nationwide protests in his nation “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene.

Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, which comes after over 500 have been reported killed by activists -- the vast majority coming from demonstrators.

Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.

Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.

Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.

A huge crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veteran Avenue in LA’s Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by early evening only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.

Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.

Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with the the demonstrators, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver. A police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.

The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.

Shiite Muslims hold placards and chant slogans during a protest against the U.S. and show solidarity with Iran in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Activists carrying a photograph of Reza Pahlavi take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Activists take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)