Canadian charity Playground Builders helped facilitate the construction of this kids’ park in Gaza. After the recent bombardment of the Palestinian territory, all of the group’s 37 Gazan parks have been damaged or destroyed.[Playgroundbuilders.org ]

They come together through dreams and diligence. A shadow of land, a heap of metal. A bucket of hand-mixed concrete, a can of donated paint. They find life at schools, orphanages and gathering places. They might have a fence, maybe some benches. No matter the details, each represents a small raft of joy in a sea of strife, the laughter emanating from their swings, slides and climbing bars not just the familiar music of children having fun, but the literal sounds of hope.

Whether enjoyed in a public park or at a school, playgrounds are a quintessential part of childhood for many Canadians. A place where hours were often passed with family or friends. Such escapes, however, are virtually unknown to children living in wartorn areas, where the landscapes of youthful diversion more often involve rebar-riven heaps of rubble and constellations of rocket craters.

It seems not only unfortunate but grievously wrong that the protracted political and ideological quarrels of adults can create such voids in the lives of children—the kind of thing that could and should be righted. Indeed, that simple prospect—creating safe places for play—is the motivation behind Playground Builders, a small, direct-action charity based in Whistler, B.C., that has constructed 290 playgrounds in areas of cyclical conflict in the Middle East and central Asia—207 alone in Afghanistan—and are now used by 1.6 million children daily.

Workers prep a playground site in Afghanistan.[Playgroundbuilders.org ]

While the destruction and insecurities of war serve to emphasize the need, playgrounds are even more valuable in blunting instability after fighting ends.

“Mom and dad, if they’re alive, are setting up shelter and looking for food; the kids are on their own,” said the organization’s founder Keith Reynolds, recalling a visit to the West Bank town of Jenin in 2005 that sparked the initial idea. “At the time, [Israel] was rounding up men and putting them in prison. And this mother I met, suddenly the family breadwinner, was trying to contain her kids who, with nothing else to do, were climbing out windows to throw rocks at Israeli tanks—never a good activity.”

Reynolds, an inveterate traveller who once worked in the forestry sector, recognized the need for safe spaces where kids could expend energy in more positive ways. Explaining his thoughts to a friend back in Whistler over a beer, Reynolds was handed a cheque and an entreat to “Do it,” leading to a first playground in the West Bank in 2006. The charity was founded the following year, eventually expanding its mission to Gaza, Iraq and Afghanistan, dodging the problems of most foreign non-governmental organizations in active conflict zones by having no offices, cars, phones, computers, security or even staff—its monies funnelled directly to hand-picked local partner NGOs already working with women and children. It also eschewed all politicization: “We’re 3G,” said Reynolds. “No gods, no guns, no governments.”

A youngster enjoys one result of their labour.[Playgroundbuilders.org ]

Workers paint a mural and move equipment into place at playgrounds in Gaza.[Playgroundbuilders.org ]

[Playgroundbuilders.org ]

Work, pride and happy children are powerful motivators—and positive ways to cultivate a reduced appetite for the conflict stream.

Depending on location, $8,000-$10,000 will build a pre-designed playground, making it easy for a single donor or group to sponsor. In addition to minimal material costs, locals are employed preparing land, welding and painting play structures, and installing benches where parents can watch their kids play.

Work, pride and happy children are powerful motivators—and positive ways to cultivate a reduced appetite for the conflict stream.

As a regional novelty, playgrounds can see heavy use: at one Afghan school, where 14,000 girls studied in three daily shifts prior to Taliban rule in 2021, the single playground was mobbed from sun-up to sundown. Given the inevitable wear-and-tear of such high traffic, Playground Builders now allocates a portion of funds each year for refurbishment.

Plus, given their locations, there’s also the risk a playground can be lost to renewed conflict.

[Playgroundbuilders.org ]   

[Playgroundbuilders.org ]

[Playgroundbuilders.org ]

Keith Reynolds (left, on right) helped facilitate the construction of the first of his charity’s playgrounds in the West Bank in 2006. Since then, it has built 289 others in the Middle East and central Asia, working with local NGOs to organize the work.[Playgroundbuilders.org ]

[Playgroundbuilders.org ]

One Gazan woman, Doaa helped with many of the parks. She and her family were killed during the recent Israel-Hamas war.[Playgroundbuilders.org ]

Though the group’s 37 playgrounds in Gaza sound like a respectable total for such a small territory, a population density of 5,500/square kilometre meant there was always a need for more (a recent installation in the territory served 70,000 kids). And while three were destroyed during past Israeli incursions, the latest conflict has exacted a much higher toll—all have been damaged or destroyed.

“We can say with confidence that we’ve lost some and there’s been damage to others,” said Reynolds, who struggles with what the displacement of 1.7 million people means for surviving children. “It’s just too dangerous—three of our NGO partners have already been killed.”

This past August, Reynolds texted with a Gazan woman who helped facilitate 17 playgrounds, but has now found herself on a forced march away from high-conflict areas on four occasions, and narrowly escaped death in a marketplace strike. Her update: “They have destroyed them all—even the schools.”

To maintain some level of support for the children of Gaza, Playground Builders has pivoted to helping feed the poorest of the displaced through a health and nutrition initiative—though even that is proving fraught.

Another August text: “Dear Mr. Keith, please mention our team instead of names or anything else. You know it’s too risky here.”