Problem

After a disaster, children suddenly become vulnerable to boredom and are isolated from one another. Children find it difficult to meet-up with friends and on rare occasions when they do, there is nowhere safe to go and nothing to do. This is cause for concern - particularly when children and teenagers are likely to be experiencing stress and depression due to loss of their family, friends and the disruption of life as they knew it.

The Gift

Building playgrounds is a step in the healing process and helps to establish normalcy for children who have lived through a disaster. Your donation will help give children a safe and happy environment where they can meet their friends and be children again. It may be some time before the horror of a disaster becomes a distant memory, but playgrounds can serve as a coping mechanism. They help children regain stability and foster hope that their village will again be a happy place to be. A $100 donation will help a community build an eco-friendly playground. For example, Operation USA funded the construction of nine playgrounds in villages affected by the 2005 Asian Tsunami. Most of the supplies used to build the playgrounds were found within the neighborhoods. The community members did the building and the children picked the vibrant colors.