Playground for Sivaraja Deaf and Blind School

We are making progress to build the playground for Sivaraja Deaf and Blind School. It is scheduled to be built the first and second weeks of March 2023. This will be our first playground of the year and our first playground in Sri Lanka. Volunteers on the ground have begun to purchase the necessary materials, and they are also raising the ground 8 inches to avoid flooding during rain. 

On March 1st, our CEO will fly to Sri Lanka to complete the project. Additionally, there will be a professional film production starting on March 8th to capture the project and importance of play. They will then create a short video.

As a separate project, we are working with students at Emily Carr University to develop learning toys for the students with disabilities at the school. We partnered with students at Emily Carr University as well to design this playground.

We have collected the initial playground design from the local students at Sivaraja deaf and blind school. 

Since then we worked with the students from Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Canada and the students from Guangzhou university of Technology in China to come up with the final design.

This process was very exciting. Students divided into six teams and in the period of two weeks they compete against each other to come up with the best, feasible design. Students design based on what local students in Sri Lanka drafted. To be able to create a powerful, safe, and interactive playground, university students spent half a day blocking their vision and hearing so they can understand which other sense would be stimulated during play.

Many students mentioned this was the most profound experience and workshop that they ever had. 

Also it is a first time that their design is not just a concept, it will be build, and it is going to make difference for many children.

From the six teams, team Tomato won the competition since they had the most simple and feasible design, which stimulate the most senses. 

Currently we are working on the structural design and the material break down.