Playground for the village

while in the village yesterday, the ladies brought out the documents that they worked so hard to obtain .  They are the registry of a playground committee , including the tittle and deed to a small parcel of land that they hope to build on.    the funny part was when they shared the storey of how they sent a delegate of mothers and grandmothers to the city to get the approval and documents ... on Donkey's .. I sat there imagining the site that must have been . 

last fall , one of the 110 children in the village died when he drowned in a drainage ditch while out playing with his brothers.  That is when the village knew for sure that something needed to be done to provide there children a safe place to play.

This village has no money, but they are committed to the project.. they sat around the table yesterday and  talked about how the playground should look , and most importantly how it needed to be a community effort , and how they all needed to have a part in the work .  

the first thing they will need to do is put up a fence to keep the kids in and safe .  then we will begin with the swing set , and go from there .  Jeff brought with him some great seats for there swings , as well as a baby swing..

so here is the problem .. they have no money .. but they have seen God move in there village in the past .. they saw Him provide the finances for water , they saw him provide finances for operations, and the solution to this new need .. prayer  and wait on God.

My guess is that the total cost of this playground when complete , including a small building that we can use as a class room / community centre  will be about $5000.   this seems like so much for us at this time , but like we have seen in the past, if we just step out in faith and begin the work, we are sure that God will provide .. So we will start with the fence and the swing..   We are looking for $500 to get the project rolling .. This is a great opportunity to reach out to so many kids for years to come , as well as continue to build community ..  I know a lot of our readers are involved with summer kids camps and programs in Canada and the US.. perhaps your group is looking for a project to support , if so maybe building a playground would be a good project .. We could provide lots of follow up pictures , and maybe even letters to and from the kids  ..  We are open to do what ever it takes .. I just want to see this project move forward while they are all so excited .