Project Details
In the remote province of Xieng Khouang, in the northern eastern highlands of Laos, hundreds of children are eager to have opportunities to play with their friends in a safe environment. This area was particularly heavily bombed during the second Indo-China war and UXOs (Unexploded Ordnance) still constitute a real danger and children are particularly at risk. It is for this reason why providing a safe and fun environment for children to play is particularly important. Especially since there are currently no playgrounds in the area of Phonsavan, which is the provincial capital.
Hence, the idea of providing an area where the children can play safely and be creative was born. Moreover, the playground would be made of recyclable materials such as wood, tyres, plastic bottles. We hope with this project to bring a little bit of joy in the life of those little fellows but also raise awareness among people about the lack of safe playing areas for children and the possible use of recyclable materials for different purposes. Hopefully this idea will be used as a pilot project for other areas in Laos.
Thanks to the kind support of Mulberries, an organic silk farm established in this area, this project is now about to come true. The purpose of this farm is to revive and encourage the Lao traditional practice of silk fiber production, by providing training and support in silk worm rearing, art and craft and weaving. For this project, Mulberries offered us to use part of their land to build the playground. The play area would be situated nearby their newly built Café, allowing an easy access at a central location. The playground would of course be freely open to any children of the area, customers or not.
In order to realize this pilot project, funds are required to be able to build a safe and sustainable playground for the children. Even if one of the purposes of this project is to utilize recyclable materials and rely on the help of local people, an additional investment will have to be made to ensure good foundations, additional materials and to cover transportation costs.
That’s why we count on your help to achieve this project! This support can be at every level: fund raising, ideas for playground games, technical knowledge as well as sponsors. Every contribution, no matter how small, is precious to us - financial or not.
Hopefully thanks to the support of each and every one of you, we will be able to implement this wonderful project which could lead to other great accomplishments. And like Kay Redfield Jamison said "Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity."
