Help give Moonee Valley playgrounds a second life in disadvantaged communities
A group of local volunteers providing playgrounds to disadvantaged children around the world is asking the Moonee Valley community to help continue their good work.
The Rotary Club of Flemington Kensington was this year awarded a Community Spirit Award for their outstanding service to the Moonee Valley community. Among the club’s efforts is its playground relocation project, that sees unwanted play equipment from Australia rehomed abroad in developing countries.
Rotarian Peter Cribb kickstarted the project in 2017 when preparing to ship a container of donated bicycles and sewing machine to a girls’ home in Sri Lanka. When the container still had room to spare, Peter asked the community what else was needed.
The answer? A playground.
It just so happened the City of Greater Geelong was at the time preparing to retire one of its community playgrounds. The Rotary club swooped in to save the equipment from the scrap heap, instead shipping it to Sri Lanka where it still enjoys a second lease on life.
They’ve now sent 400 playgrounds overseas, to countries including South Africa, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, India and Nepal. The team here deconstructs and ships the playground, while international Rotary counterparts receive and reassemble the playground at the other end.
“They are all in poor communities that wouldn’t have managed to get a playground otherwise,” explains Peter.
“It is the most tearjerking experience to see a playground officially opened, and the kids swarm onto it.”
The bulk of recycled playgrounds come from councils, including Moonee Valley, which has so far provided seven playgrounds for relocation – including one recently replaced at Aberfeldie Park North.
But a combination of high demand for the project and waning club membership means Rotary now needs help to carry on its good work. The club is calling on other community groups to occasionally volunteer their time and energy to disassemble unwanted playgrounds.
It’s a model that has flourished in Mt Barker, South Australia, where 12 community groups all pitch in to keep Rotary’s playground project alive.
Peter says the more groups who get involved, the more disused playgrounds can find their way out of landfill and into developing communities. Jobs include photographing the playground, marking parts to help with easy reassembly, deconstruction and transport to a storage facility.
“The amount of work is small, the times called upon infrequent, but the pay-off for kids in these countries is huge,” he says.
If you or your community group are interested in helping, you can contact Peter Cribb from Rotary Club of Flemington Kensington at ptcribb@gmail.com or 0410 548 543.
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