Play is a human right. It is essential to healthy child development, however in many parts of the world children do not have the opportunity to play. We are helping to change this one playground at a time. This project is focused on a small, rural village in Janwaar, India. The children of the village have advocated for a playground for their community. They helped with the design, which utilizes all local sourced, recycled materials and they will be a part of constructing their playground.
Tens of millions of children around the world are deprived of opportunities for play. This is nowhere more true than in orphanages and under resourced, poor communities. A lack of quality time and space for children to play severely impacts their development. Play is crucial for healthy development, it promotes connections between nerve cells, helps develop motor skills and coordination, builds social skills and creativity, teamwork, empathy and tolerance.
Building community playgrounds will provide children access to play and to relationships with other children. Playgrounds will be built with the input of the children and will be low cost and made out of natural, local elements. Every playground will be open to both children from orphanages and children and parents from the local community. A variety of play spaces will be incorporated to accommodate a variety of ages, as well as "loose parts" to stimulate learning and creativity.
Children who grow up in orphanage care often leave the orphanage completely alone and at very high risk for trafficking, crime, servitude, and worse. This model provides nurturing connections for children without their family. The relationships created between children in orphanages, children from the local community and caring adults, provides the potential for healthy long-term relationships, and bridges the gap from orphanage life to a permanent life within a local community.
