Syrian Playground Fundraiser

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.