Playground for orphans in Mahango

WHAT IS THE PLAYGROUND GOING TO BE GOOD FOR?
Mostly to bring joy for the children, which they could enjoy also in the very short time they have. Also to develop their movement, which they like so much. Crawling and climbing challenges will give children the feeling of overcoming milestones, the swing calms children and leads to greater concentration. The advantage is, that to play in the playground they do not need a mentor to lead them and they can easily be creative by themselves! The playground will be near by the kitchen, so in case there is a need to watch after them, someone will always be near by!

HOW SHOULD THE PLAYGROUND LOOK LIKE?
1. Swings, at best 3
2. Climbing frames
3. "Experience" sidewalk using different materials

The materials need a good quality, in the addition to the safety of children. Quality metal must be embedded in the concrete foundation so that soil erosion during the rainy season would make as little damage as possible. We will invite craftsmen from a larger city to build the playground, the locals do not have enough experience, and it might not be profitable.

Depending on how much money we will collect, the more attractions will be possible to build. Maybe we will be even able to build a small carousel! But maybe thats only in our dreams :)

Why IS IT NOT ENOUGH TO PLAY WITH THE TOYS?
Bringing "modern" toys to the orphanage only makes sence in the season when there are also the volunteers, who can assist and play with them. In african culture, the games with toys are not as common as in our culture. The children are not able to use them as carefully and do not know the value.

When the volunteers are in the orphanage, there is plenty of fun. Children play with toys, draw, create and develop their brains with several types of games. The volunteers are in Mahango about 3 months a year and we want them to enjoy fun even in the other days!

On the other hand, local children know how to play with the use of natural and simple materials, or basic toys made of trash. They are able to make a small balloon from old plastic bags, they roll the tires, tangle the grass straws for jumping and much more. But for such game, that includes also creation of the toy, they would need much more time than they have. From 7:00 untill 15:00 all the children are at school and as soon as they return, they have many duties to do for the household and also in the fields. The comunity of Center Mahango lives in a modest way and many things are taken care of by the children themselves. Thats how they learn the responsibility for them, themselves, but we should not forget that as children, they also have the right to enjoy games and fun!

The girls jumping

This kind of smile came out of the girls faces thanks to this swing. The children enjoyed swinging on our trip this year. Let´s see, if we will manage to build swings even in the Mahango center! :)