Masicorp has achieved much that has improved the daily learning experience for the children of Ukhanyo Primary School in Masiphumelele. While classrooms and teaching equipment have been upgraded there has not been the same attention paid to the play areas of the school. There is little space available for the school’s ever increasing number of children to play during breaktime. Masicorp volunteer Rachel Weldon saw this for herself during the time she has recently spent with us.

While Rachel will shortly be returning to her native Australia she wants to leave the children of Ukhanyo a legacy in the form of a better environment in which to play. The current play area in the school is a small sandy fenced off area where crowds of children play at once. There are a few old tyres scattered about to jump through and an old blue gum tree. That’s it for play equipment.

Time spent at play can be just as rewarding for children as their classroom experience. It stimulates their imagination, helps them develop motor skills, builds social skills and prepares them to learn once back in the classroom.

Rachel’s ‘Play for Life’ Fund aims to raise funds to build a playground they can use during breaks. A safe area where they can be creative, climb, swing, slide, bounce and make up games. Maybe a tree house in the old blue gum tree in the kindergarten area. Some trees and flowering shrubs, perhaps a small veggie garden, would make it into a playground for kids to enjoy for years to come.

There is currently no outside play equipment in the school at all – no swings or slides – but there is some space. This sandy area between the classrooms could be an ideal location for a playground if Rachel can raise the funds. Masicorp is committed to help her ideas come to fruition if she can raise the necessary funding.

Can you help Rachel? Please see her website HERE to see how to make donations. There is an option to donate online or details of how to send funds directly to Masicorp. The aim is to raise the funding by Christmas with the hope that a surprise can be in place for the children in the New Year. Thanks for any help you can give.