We have a new project we’ve been dreaming up and working on since this spring. We’re so excited to finally announce The Playground Project! We’re partnering with the village administration to build a playground for the kids & families of Ivanivka.
In case this is your first time hearing about Ivanivka, here’s a little info for you. The village of Ivanivka is located in north eastern Ukraine. It’s home to about 1100 people. While there are a lot of families and children who live there, they lack a fun and safe place to play, sit, hang out and be kids. There is a small park area in the center of the village, right off the main road. While it might seem convenient, a lot of moms worry about their kids playing there for a few reasons. It’s a long walk for many of them, and it’s right on the main road. Our village roads were actually recently repaired which is a blessing and a curse – much easier to drive, but also much easier for crazy drivers to drive too fast. And the walk to the current set of swings means a walk on that road.
While we don’t have the actual demographics or numbers, we can tell you there are a lot of kids in Ivanivka. And in our neighborhood area, we often see kids playing on the road, on the bridge, or wherever they can meet up to hang out. To build a park near our house would be beneficial to the community in so many ways. A safe place for kids, moms and friends to spend time together. Healthy recreation and play. Community building for the families near each other. And that’s just to name a few.
Sasha recently spoke with the head of the village government/administration about using the field near our house to build this park and playground area. We were just hoping for approval of the space and were met with enthusiasm and excitement for partnership!
The video below shows a bit of what Open Arms does in the village, as well as what some of our local kids and friends have to say about why a park would be beneficial to the community. We’ve got the spot all scoped out, the permission to use the land, and now all we need is the money to fund it! We need to raise $5000 to cover the cost of the prep work, equipment, shipping, and building of the playground. Please join us as we work to enhance the community of Ivanivka. Stay tuned for updates, ideas and to check our progress as we fundraise!