It’s not often that you see playground
culture covered in the mainstream press, if it does appear there tends to be a
focus on unfortunate accidents or a misplaced development. Bridge Timber was
delighted when we saw how quickly a story about a playground built for Syrian
refugee children had spread online. While we continue to delight and inspire
the children of Halifax, it’s easy to forget that many children the world over
are unable to enjoy the same privilege.
It no big secret that playing outside is an
imperative part of child development, in fact – to neglect such freedom will
only stifle a child’s early opportunity to learn vital social and physical
skills. In Syria, many children have been relocated to refugee camps in order
to save them from the ensuing chaos and danger. These camps offer a safe haven
from conflict and in the case of Syria, over 1.1 million refugees have ended up
in Lebanese camps unrecognised by the government. It doesn't paint a pretty
picture.
With 80% of the Syrian children outside of
education and without a proper place to play and develop, an outstanding Indiegogo
campaign has emerged in aid of a new playground for these kids. This follows a
successful campaign to develop ‘portable’ school grounds by Catalytic Action
across 17 settlements of which three have been built successfully. “Swings,
slides, see-saws, jump-ropes and elastic chords” are all set to make an
appearance.
You can check out the Indiegogo campaign
here, if you feel like contributing to the cause then there’s plenty of time to
do so.
For more news from Bridge Timber please
like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
