Playground for a School

[PK]

Last week our new volunteer, Wes, informed Isara that his parents would like to sponsor a school project. After searching for a few days we were able to find a school that was in need of a playground (they have none in their entire village). The name of the school is Ban Muang Mee Pohm Vitaya School. We had donated helmets to them last year and remembered how friendly and supportive the teachers and students were.



Today the Asst. Director of the school drove us to Udon Thani, the city south of Nong Khai, to purchase the playground equipment. We bought 5 pieces for a total of about $630.



The equipment will be delivered tomorrow afternoon and, after the land is leveled and gravel is placed down, the students will have a new place to play. (Schools are closed for two weeks so they will be very surprised when they return.)

Thanks to Wes and his parents for allowing Isara to be an outlet for their generosity,
-pk

[M3R1IN]

I cant wait to see the kids enjoying this playground.  It was interesting to go to that factory and see all the equipment.  I hope the kids like what we chose.

[Ginafish]

I Love New Projects! Thank you to Wesley's Family!

Thank you for the photos of the play equipment factory. I never thought about stacks of swing sets, etc. Are those benches with awnings? Or a kind of balance beam? I'm glad to see they are all constructed out of metal to withstand all the rain.

[PK]

Yes, those are benches with awnings. We didn't buy any of them because the area where the playground will be has a lot of trees and natural protection from the sun and rain. But we did buy some monkey bars (the factory actually had a monkey - see the Mo' Monkey thread), a jungle gym, a swing set, a large see-saw thing, and two barrels with a slide attached.

[KitKat]

This is a wonderful surprise! Thank you to Wesley and his family's loving generosity.
This new playground will make a lot of kids very happy. What a wonderful donation!

[Soulessaint]

Awe, that is so wonderful!! Thank you so much, Wesley's Family, for your blessing. The children will truly enjoy the playground. Gbya

[JMB13]

WOW! Awesome!

[thartley]

This is such a cool project.  I am happy to know great things keep coming in the ways they do.

Hugs and thanks to Wes' family for making a difference.

[Ming]

Nice Project, thank you very much for Wes and your parents. Very nice of your family.
I'm sure you will be very happy when you see all the kids enjoy it.

[PK]

This afternoon the playground equipment was delivered and painted the school colors.



The next step is to prepare the area where the playground will be. Dirt needs to be hauled in and then layers of sand. It should happen sometime next week.
-pk

[Ginafish]

Yippee!! That was quick! And I LOvVE Pictures! It's great that kids were on hand for a photo op. And that they can enjoy the play area before school starts again.

Now someone needs to take their welders mask down there and take off the little 'stumps' on the half circle rocker so it can really tilt.

[KitKat]

Thanks so much for the fun photos! Wow! the kids will be so excited and surprised when they return to school after their holiday. I'm sure word has already spread around the village about the new playground.

My head is spinning with all the excitement going on for Isara.
 
M3R1IN, lots of activity going on since your arrival at the ILC.   I know you must be having the time of your life.

[M3R1IN]

I can only hope that we will be busier, i want to do as many projects as possible while im here.  I plan to try to rally support when i go back to Canada too.

[Soulessaint]

Wes, that is great. You have such a good heart. Gbya

[Ginafish]

I can only hope that we will be busier, i want to do as many projects as possible while im here.

M3R1IN, don't forget to relax while in Nong Khai! Maybe you need to go the playground again and swing?

[thartley]

Wes sure looks like he is having the time of his life there. 

[M3R1IN]

Nongkhai is a cool place, the people here are great.
Thailand is so cool.... except 4 the dumb dogs that keep me up at night. Anyone got some spare antifreze?  perhaps a hot dog loaded with ibuprofen, that should help

[PK]

The playground equipment is already getting a lot of attention. Every evening children from the village go to the school to play. Which is much better than sitting at home and watching tv.




UPDATE: Today the playground area was leveled by a tractor and then 15 trucks of dirt and sand came to fill in the area. Each truckload was $20. 15 trucks was more than we planned on so went over budget by about $100. We'll know better next time.



The school will move the playground equipment to its new location next week and the kids will begin to decorate the area. They will invite us back on November 2nd for a ceremony.

Thanks again to Wes and his mother and father for making this project happen.

[KitKat]

This is so much fun! Thanks for the update and pics. 

[wendygirl]

It looks great.  I am glad there are so many trees to provide shade and kept it cool.  I know the kids must love it.
Thanks M3R1IN and Folks. (Thats parents to us in the MidWest)

[Soulessaint]

This is great!! Gbya

[PK]

This afternoon Wes and I were invited to attend the school ceremony, officially opening the new playground. (Also, as you can see by the photo, Wes was crowned Miss Universe. hahaha)



The teachers and children were all smiles and the playground looked great. The school did a really nice job with the layout and utilizing the surrounding trees. (There's even room for one or two more slides or swings.) It was also nice to see that they used our suggestion about using their old tires (which were stored under the school) for framing the playground and so students could sit on them.



The Principal said the 192 students are very happy with their new playground and that, in the evening, children from the village (who study at other schools) come and play as well. So the playground is not only benefiting the school but the entire village.

Thanks to Wes and his family for their generous donation to make this project possible. And, as always, thanks to all our visitors for continuing to support us with your clicks.
-pk

P.S. Wes took some nicer photos than mine. He'll upload them soon.

[Ginafish]

What Exciting News!

The elementary school I went to did something similar with tires, but when they were 'planted', it was at various heights with different size tires. They also painted them and snaked them around the playground. It was a big hit.

[Soulessaint]

GREAT!!!! Take care. Gbya

[KitKat]

Wow! The photos are wonderful. Lots of very happy children enjoying their new playground. The kids really loved having their photo taken.   
A huge thank you to Wesley's family for their most generous donation!