TALIA
Edston and Talia
Families all across the world found their routines thrown for a loop at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Schools and community centres were no longer accessible, and opportunities to play with friends or family were few and far between.
Edston Barzey and his great-niece, Talia, experienced this more than most. Edston is Talia’s sole legal guardian, taking her in from Children’s Services in Saskatoon in 2015 after she lost her father.
Her father had been taking care of her after Talia’s mother had passed away when she was only one and a half years old.
“She had nowhere else to go,” Edston says, “so I stepped up.”
Talia and her great-uncle have lived alone with each other since then, and he’s done his best to keep her busy and active, taking her to the park frequently to play soccer. Edston’s bad knee means that he can’t do too much moving around, but he still tries to play goalie for Talia when he’s able.
“I can’t do much sprinting any more,” he says.
This routine continued through the pandemic, as Edston did his best to keep her occupied as schools were closed. However, there’s only so much of going to a near-empty park every day that they could take, and the new routine of staying in the house, drawing, and going out to that same mostly vacant park to play only as many sports as Edston’s knees could handle became repetitive not long after it started.
Thankfully, Talia learnt about Free Play for Kids through her school, John A. McDougall. Now in sixth grade, she has spent the last couple of years playing sports with the program, and while she still plays soccer with her great uncle, having Free Play around took a load off not only her mental health and her tolerance for doing the same thing over and over but also her uncle’s knees.
“I’m truly grateful for the program,” Edston says, “and for all that Free Play provided for us during the pandemic.”
Talia being involved in sports is important to Edston, both for health reasons, as it’s important to him that Talia has a healthy lifestyle going forward and for the social aspect.
However, he recognizes and appreciates the support that Free Play in particular provides for his family and others who face a big financial barrier when it comes to the cost of getting involved in sports.
“It’s ridiculous how much it can cost,” Edston says. “Every kid being able to play sports should be the absolute bare minimum.”
Now that things have opened up and there are more opportunities for different kinds of play and sports in the program, Edston and Talia are excited to continue participating in Free Play.
“She’s very excited about it,” Edston says. “She loves it. And I appreciate what it’s done for us ever since we learned about it.”
