EAST AFRICAN PLAYGROUNDS “Children have the right to rest and leisure, to engage

in play and recreational activities”

Article 31 of the United Nations, Convention on the Rights of the Child

Positive change in East Africa Transforming empty spaces into vibrant, exciting and creative playgrounds for all to enjoy across East Africa since 2009.

An important part of a child’s development We enhance a child’s opportunity to develop and grow by providing safe, fun and creative space to explore, learn and play.

Creating prosperous futures We give young men and women the training, jobs and opportunity to escape poverty and empower themselves to develop their skills, their families and their countries.

Our aims East African Playgrounds aim to enhance the lives of children across East Africa by developing children’s

learning opportunities and environments whilst providing valuable training and employment for young

disadvantaged adults. Through this we provide:

- Children with free access to a safe place to play and develop

- Children a space to develop their creative and inter-personal skills

- Young men and women the skills to have a prosperous future

Our background East African Playgrounds was founded in 2009 by two UK students and two Ugandan builders with the

aim to provide safe, fun and creative playgrounds for the children of East Africa. Since 2009 we have

grown from a team of volunteers building one playground a year into an international charity that:

- Has given over 30,000 children in Uganda access to 68 fun, safe and high quality playgrounds - Has a full time Ugandan building team of 30 - Provides arts and play programs - Builds 30 new playgrounds a year

We believe that children have the right to a childhood and that young adults have the right to training

and employment. Through our playgrounds the children can develop whilst the young adults who build

them can have a bright future and help their families, communities and Uganda develop.

We work alongside local communities and other charities to provide them with a playground that is

tailor made to their community and that provides endless benefit for the long-term. Our playgrounds

follow international safety guidelines and standards, use local materials and are designed by our

professional designers to represent and empower the play history of the community.

Playgrounds From UNICEF to teachers, academics and children, it is agreed that play is a vital and necessary component in child development, education and childhood. A playground is a positive asset for any community, accommodating an array of opportunities in terms of child development and community cohesion. Our playgrounds give children, who otherwise live an adult life, the chance and the space to have fun and encourage children to think for themselves, thus gaining vital problem solving skills, which are often missing in classroom teaching.

Workshop Quality training and employment opportunities for young adults are vital to East Africa’s development and bringing people out of poverty. Alongside the playgrounds that we build we have also changed the lives and futures of over 30 young men and women in Uganda by training them as playground builders in our two workshops in Jinja, Uganda. We run a training program for teenage street children to give them the chance to gain invaluable experience and to join our apprentice programs. It is only through empowering East African’s that East Africa will be able to develop and grow.

Arts and Play Our arts and play program has been designed by Ugandan teachers, UK play workers and art therapists to allow children to express themselves in a creative manner. The program works in schools and hospitals, allowing the teachers to engage with the children in a more free environment and showing them the importance of arts and play in children’s personal and education development. Through running the arts and play projects in schools and children’s hospitals across Jinja district we have trained over 25 teachers in a more creative way of teaching.

Future Aims EAP has started to gain recognition for its work, being a finalist in the UK Student Union RAG

charity of the year 2014, winning the vodafone world of difference award 2013 as well as being

in talks with War Child, VSO and UNICEF about the impact that EAP is having across Uganda and

the potential for future growth.

We are now in the research and fundraising phase of expanding and opening up a brand new

playground building workshop in a second country in East Africa. In doing so we aim to give an

extra:

5,000+ children access to vital playgrounds by building 10 playgrounds in their new workshops first year

10,000 children access to vital playgrounds by building 20 playgrounds every year thereafter

10 young men and women the opportunity to become highly skilled, full time employed playground builders

3 young men and women the chance to train to become administrators, play workers and play consultants

By building playgrounds in a new country thousands more children will benefit and more young

men and women will be given the chance to develop themselves, their families, their

communities and their own country themselves through the empowerment of play. You can

contact us at Tom@eastafricanplaygrounds.org for more information.