It was the biggest playground yet –and the largest group of volunteers ever. Two years of planning and fundraising culminated in a playground built for the children of Chombok Primary School, Chombok Village, Prek Prasob District, Kratie Province, Cambodia. 27 volunteers arrived at Chombok Village on the morning of February 5^th. First on the agenda was the unpacking of the seacan. Volunteers from the school and the village eagerly helped us to unload the playground and the nearly 200 boxes of donations that we had brought to share with the villagers and school children.

We started mapping the playground on the afternoon of February 5^th, and were official guests at the Grand Opening that was held on Monday morning, February 12^th. Eight days of working side by side with our new Cambodian friends in +31 degree heat with 75% humidity. These friends helped us throughout the entire build and taught us that we don’t need to speak the same language to understand the spirit of volunteerism and friendship.

At the Grand Opening our Cambodia partner, Mr. Sophalleth Eang (Darryl) thanked our Canadian contingent for donating such a beautiful play structure. He thanked us on behalf of the children and the adults of the community – reminding us that the playground would be a source of pleasure for the children, and also a place of healing for the adults…a reminder of the harsh history of this beautiful country.

During the Grand Opening Ceremony, members of our group gave token gifts to the children – a back-pack filled with school supplies that represented the donations given by Ormsby School and others, and a soccer ball representing the many sports equipment donations from Dunluce, Baturyn and Lorelei Beaumaris Community Leagues. One of the most poignant moments during the Ceremony was when our volunteer Winnie Bogosoff presented the school principal with a new guitar. One of our original members, Sonny Bogosoff passed away before he could go on this, his fourth playground build. In honour of his dedication to CDRS International and his love of music and children, we donated three guitars to the school.

Another successful playground build.

BELOW ARE A FEW OF THEIR MEMORIES

CLICK HERE FOR A PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE PLAYGROUND SITE