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Dialogue Begins Between Honduran and U.S. Students

2010-02-15T12:11:00.033-05:00

Global Playground's Project Honduras, a technology center for the Villa Soleada and Las Brisas communities in El Progreso, Honduras, will open in April 2010. In the meantime, two groups of students in the U.S. have already begun a cross-cultural dialogue with their Honduran counterparts in those communities.

Global Playground board member Becca Sacra, a fourth grade teacher at P.S. 261 in Brooklyn, New York, had her students create booklets about themselves to share with the students in Honduras. When her fellow board members traveled to Honduras in late December, they delivered the booklets and on their return brought back booklets that the Honduran students had made, about their own lives, for the students of P.S. 261.

Lea Kennedy, a Spanish teacher at Stonington High School in Connecticut and advisor of the Global Playground Club there, encouraged her students to make holiday cards for the Honduran students, who in return made New Year's cards. Going beyond just making cards for their counterparts, Stonington students have also pledged to raise $5000 toward the new technology center.

Through the technology center, a critical component of partner organization Students Helping Honduras's larger learning center in Villa Soleada, Global Playground aims to utilize technology to foster cross-cultural exchanges in "real time" between students in Honduras and those in the U.S. as well as those connected to other Global Playground project sites in Cambodia, Thailand, and Uganda.

Honduras: Ground Broken for Technology Center

2010-02-15T11:53:00.018-05:00

Global Playground has launched Project Honduras, a technology center that will be a critical component of a larger learning center serving hundreds of impoverished youth. The learning center will serve the youth of the Las Brisas and Villa Soleada communities near El Progreso, the fourth largest city in Honduras.

Construction on the learning center began on December 14, 2009. Board members Doug Bunch, Doug Smith and Edward Branagan, accompanied by their families, visited the site around the New Year. According to Mr. Bunch, the center is "going up very fast" and is expected to serve between 200 and 250 students. The center will provide a safe educational space for youth living in impoverished areas near El Progreso, the home of Honduras's largest sweatshop, says Mr. Bunch.

Global Playground's technology center is part of a coordinated effort to improve educational opportunities for Honduran youth. This is critical, given that Honduras is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 45 percent of its population under age 18. The larger learning center continues the ongoing work of Global Playground's partner organization, Students Helping Honduras, which has also constructed new homes for many of the youth's families. The new facility, which will also include a library and classroom space, will be utilized as a platform for a variety of community empowerment programs. In addition, the learning center will help improve educational opportunities for local youth participating in cross-cultural exchanges with U.S. students through Global Playground's "A World Beyond Classrooms" initiative.

Look out for a fully constructed learning center by April 2010!

GP Kicks Off 2010 at Madam's Organ

2010-01-28T16:42:00.015-05:00

On Thursday, January 21, Global Playground kicked off the New Year with a happy hour fundraiser at Madam's Organ in Washington, DC. Throughout the evening, guests learned about Global Playground's mission and enjoyed food and drink specials whose purchase benefited Global Playground's work on behalf of kids in developing countries.

A big thanks to Madam's Organ and its Thursday's Nonprofits Profit fundraiser program, which helps local nonprofits raise money and awareness for their causes. And a huge thanks to those who came out!

One Ice Cream Caramel Apple for Education, Please

2009-12-01T21:53:00.016-05:00

For a back-to-school celebration this past September, the Franklin Fountain, an old-fashioned ice cream shoppe in Old City Philadelphia, created an apple-themed dessert to raise money for education. Global Playground was the lucky beneficiary of the Franklin Fountain's largesse, having received all the proceeds generated from the sale of each warm apple cobbler a'la mode with hot caramel topping. A stick on the ball of ice cream finished the touch to make the entire dessert appear as a caramel apple. "It was a win-win," said Eric Berley, the owner of Franklin Fountain. It was "a way to give back a little bit to the start of the school year and the apple was the perfect treat."

An old college friend of board members Doug Bunch and Edward Branagan at the College of William & Mary, Eric has been closely following Global Playground's developments since its formation in 2006. Eric contacted Global Playground in late summer with the idea of creating a special sundae not only to support Global Playground but also to spread the word about Global Playground to a larger community. Located in Old City Philadelphia, the Franklin Fountain's clientele include tourists from across the world, and each patron, whether enjoying the Schoolhouse Sundae or not, could read about Global Playground at the Franklin Fountain's register and see Global Playground informational posters throughout the shoppe.

The Schoolhouse Sundae was a delicious success, and the Franklin Fountain hopes to continue the back-to-school tradition next September.

Bands Take to the Skye to Support Global Playground

2009-12-01T14:31:00.012-05:00

On Friday, November 20th, nearly three hundred people packed into Skye Lounge, a new venue in Washington, D.C.'s Foggy Bottom neighborhood, to celebrate Global Playground's future technology center in Honduras and to support its cross-cultural initiatives. Throughout the evening, guests contributed more than $2000 as they partook in food and drink specials and jammed to the music of String Theory and The Perfect Substitutes.

The event was "absolutely packed," drawing a "much more diverse crowd" than previous Global Playground events, said Kirsten Gilbert, Global Playground's event planner. In addition to Global Playground fans, the event drew regulars of Skye Lounge; followers of The Perfect Substitutes, a Washington, D.C.-based band that performs '80s and '90s covers and is comprised of current and former graduate students of Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS); and followers of String Theory, a band with roots at the College of William & Mary whose eclectic influences include punk rock and classical music. With such a diverse mixture of people, many were exposed to the name and mission of Global Playground for the first time.

Gilbert, a recent graduate of the George Washington University who also works as an Event Associate with the New America Foundation, noted the generosity of Skye Lounge's owners in a city where many venues charge thousands of dollars to host an event. "We were able to work with a venue that was happy to have us," Gilbert commented. "And they would love to have us again!"

Skye Lounge opened in 2008, and is positioned to appeal to the martini connoisseur or the sports fan. Its owners, Daniel Allen and George Kotsoukos, provided Global Playground with use of the venue free of charge. In addition to the cover charges, Global Playground was also the beneficiary of a portion of the proceeds from beverage and food specials at the event.

Global Playground Inspires New Nonprofit That Combines Art with Charitable Giving

2009-10-25T22:06:00.023-05:00

From bringing hope to the lives of children in the genocide-ridden fields of Cambodia to an overwhelming feeling of goodwill, a long list of amazing things come from making a donation to Global Playground. To that list, Jennifer Rinker, the founder of Altruistic Trinkets, has added another: hand-crafted jewelry symbolizing the storied pasts of countries in which Global Playground operates.

After making jewelry for more than ten years as a hobby, Jennifer founded Altruistic Trinkets this year to encourage charitable giving. "I spend a considerable amount of time working on the pieces, sometimes as much as twenty hours on a given weekend, and until now simply gave the jewelry away to friends, family, and coworkers," said Jennifer. But now donors and their charities of choice are the beneficiaries of her creative talent. To receive one of her unique pieces or sets of jewelry, one simply has to provide her with evidence of a donation to a 501(c)(3) charity equaling the "giving amount" for that piece or set.

Although Jennifer honors donations to any charity, she strongly encourages support of Global Playground. "I chose Global Playground as my preferred charity because of the unique opportunities Global Playground offers not only to provide children in developing countries with critical educational resources, but also with ways to interact with Global Playground's network of schools through Internet connectivity and directed curricula." said Jennifer. "These cultural exchanges are vital in fostering a global community, and I want to do all I can to assist in those efforts."

Jennifer places special care and thought into crafting each piece of her jewelry or, as she describes it, "wearable art." This is particularly evident in the four collections she specifically designed with Global Playground in mind. Those collections attempt to not only capture the culture of the countries in which Global Playground operates, but also the rough and harsh aspect of the lives of the children whom Global Playground is helping.

Of those collections, her personal favorite is the "Khmer Rouge," a ring, bracelet, necklace, and earring set inspired by Global Playground's work in Cambodia. There the educational system was devastated by the destruction of schools and the genocide of teachers during the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s. "I put a lot of time and thought into making this collection. To capture the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge and the suffering experienced by the Cambodian people, this set is fashioned out of copper wire, olive pits with hand-carved wailing figures, and many natural stones of browns and reds, reflecting the bleeding across Cambodia's beautiful landscape," said Jennifer.

The "Khmer Rouge" collection

Jennifer--an accomplished archaeologist and lawyer--got involved in creating jewelry after attending a wholesale bead show in Houston with a co-worker. "It blew my mind to see the jaw-dropping variety of colors and material types, faceted corals, tourmalines, onyx, turquoise, pearls, and tables of gold, silver, pewter, and vermeil clasps and chains," said Jennifer. With a penchant for "doing crafty things and wanting to put prettiness into the world," which she attributes to her grandmother's influence, Jennifer could not resist transforming the beautiful beads into her own unique creations.

Jennifer recently showcased her "wearable art" at the annual Labor Day art show at Glen Echo Park in Maryland where she secured several donations for Global Playground. She is also marketing Altruistic Trinkets on Facebook where people can not only view her collections but also become "fans" of her efforts. To date, more than half of Altruistic Trinkets' "fans" are unknowns to Jennifer, suggesting that her efforts are gaining attention beyond her personal contacts.

Jennifer hopes to continue showcasing her creations at art shows and wishes for a big holiday season. More importantly, she hopes that her efforts will further Global Playground's work around the globe and in turn inspire even more Altruistic Trinkets.

-Doug Smith

To see a catalogue of Altruistic Trinkets' collections, click here or contact Jennifer directly at jjrinker@altruistictrinkets.org. She also accepts custom orders.

"A World Beyond Classrooms" Launches in Stonington, Connecticut

2009-10-20T14:42:00.016-05:00

The future is now. Global Playground has officially launched its "A World Beyond Classrooms" initiative, which will revolutionize the way students from around the world learn about other cultures. The initiative has already caught fire at Stonington High School where nearly one hundred students, about one-eighth of the student body, are so actively engaged with Global Playground that NBC Connecticut recently featured them on the five o'clock news.

A World Beyond Classrooms involves students in international development projects, promotes teacher education and teacher training, and builds bridges among youth, explained Edward Branagan, Global Playground's Executive Director. Specifically, for a donation of $5000, a school in the United States can sponsor one of Global Playground's schools. Students will learn about other cultures and languages through their own firsthand experiences and those of their teacher whose travel to the sponsored school Global Playground will fund. As a participant in the initiative, SHS has pledged to raise $5000 for Global Playground's expected project in Honduras, a $45,000 technology center with eighteen computers in El Progreso.

A World Beyond Classrooms encapsulates what makes Global Playground unique. To be sure, calling on students to help raise funds for a nonprofit is certainly not new. But a World Beyond Classrooms "is not just about fundraising for a cause. It's truly about experiencing other cultures. It's all about opening students' eyes. It's beneficial for everyone when students are able to learn on both sides about each other," said Branagan. Once the technology center is built, students at SHS and in El Progreso will be able to communicate and share things with one another in real-time over the Internet. One can only imagine what they will discover.

SHS has already raised $1000 through cash donations and the sale of Global Playground t-shirts and flower lapel pins from Cambodia. Student-led efforts have included a car wash, two bake sales, and a "buy a brick" (for a dollar) campaign that pitted homerooms against each other. SHS students have also painted a mural about Global Playground at the school and collected donated soccer balls.

These efforts kicked off last April when Mrs. Lea Kennedy, a Spanish teacher, "discovered" Global Playground and its Teacher Toolkit at the 2009 Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. Mrs. Kennedy immediately brought Global Playground back to her Spanish classes.

Mrs. Kennedy's Spanish classes have an "outreach" component, requiring her students to engage with Spanish-speaking people, and many of her students are using Global Playground to fulfill this component. "I'm giving them the opportunity to do some meaningful work within the class," says Mrs. Kennedy. The work has also eliminated traditional high school "barriers," uniting "academic superstars" with those at the bottom of their class, athletes and non-athletes, and students from different socio-economic backgrounds.

Upon learning about Global Playground, one of Mrs. Kennedy's students, Jackie Ingham, "just fell in love with the organization. That day, I went home and told my brother all about the organization; I showed him the Web site and must have gone through all the Global Playground photo albums at least twice," she said. Ingham then founded a Global Playground club at SHS to involve students other than those in Mrs. Kennedy's Spanish classes in supporting Project Honduras. Between Mrs. Kennedy's Spanish classes and the Global Playground club, about one hundred SHS students are now enthusiastically engaged with Global Playground. A few of Mrs. Kennedy's students who struggled with her Spanish 3 course even elected to take Spanish 4 because they enjoyed the class' involvement with Project Honduras.

Like many of SHS's students, Jackie Ingham believes that she is "making a difference outside of Stonington" and adds that that "is a great feeling." The students' next fundraiser will be a Latin-themed dance featuring songs in Spanish.

Scouting at Global Playground's School in Cambodia

2009-06-01T11:01:00.027-05:00

In 2008, the fledgling Girl Scout Troop 971 in Philadelphia garnered enough attention to be covered by the city's newspaper of record, "The Philadelphia Inquirer," for one reason. It was the first and only troop in the United States organized exclusively for girls of Cambodian heritage. For these Cambodian Americans, organizing a troop was simply a matter of finding interested youth and parents and approaching the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania for recognition.

For the scouting movement to arise in Cambodia itself, however, the path was fraught with difficulties. When uniformed scouts raised the Cambodia flag and sang the national anthem during the opening ceremonies at Global Playground's school in the Koh Kehl village, their presence represented the perseverance of scouting through a history of colonialism, civil war, political opportunism, and genocide.

In the century-long history of scouting in the United States, the government has never prohibited scout troops from forming or exploited scouts for political purposes. Such has not been the case in Cambodia. The first scouting movement in Cambodia, Ankar Khamarak Kayarith (AKK), arose in 1934 when Cambodia was part of French Indochina. Scouting was then halted as the Japanese occupied Cambodia during World War II, but resurrected again when the Japanese were defeated. In 1956, AKK, with 1000 scouts, was renamed "Scouts of the Queen"; one year later, a rival, state-run socialist organization, "Royal Socialist Khmer Youth," was launched, and in 1964, all Scouts of the Queen were ordered to join the socialist organization. In 1975, the dictator Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge regime officially banned scouting.

Over the next quarter-century, several attempts were made to resurrect Cambodian scouting; each was unsuccessful. In 1999, a group of men, some of whom had been scouts themselves, formed the Cambodian Scouts. By naming Lu Lansreng, then Cambodia's Minister of Information, as their leader, the Cambodian Scouts immediately became aligned with Funcinpec, the monarch-friendly political party. Funcinpec's rival, the socialist-leaning Cambodian People's Party (CPP), soon backed a rival scouting group, Scout Association of Cambodia (SAC), whose honorary head was Prime Minister Hun Sen. Although scouting was resurrected, the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) would not recognize scouting in Cambodia because the two groups were politically-aligned.

In 2005, the two groups merged to form the coeducational National Association of Cambodian Scouts (NACS). According to Mr. Sok An, the Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia and head of NACS, the goal of NACS is to encourage youth to "avoid and reduce their drug use, and to avoid perpetrating delinquent acts which are ravaging Cambodia currently." In 2008, NACS achieved a milestone. It was finally invited to become a member of the WOSM, hopefully marking an end to many years of turbulence for Cambodia's scouts.

Scouting in Cambodia in many ways resembles scouting in the United States. Cambodian scouts begin their day by lining up before Cambodia's flag, saluting the flag, and marching in unison at their scoutmaster's command. Cambodian scouts also study a Scout Handbook; wear khaki uniforms complete with neckerchiefs; learn outdoor skills, such as camping, fire building, and orientation; and seek to advance in rank. Instead of becoming an Eagle Scout--the Boy Scouts of America's top honor, which invokes the image of the bald eagle, the national bird--a Cambodian scout aspires to the rank of Angkor, named for the pride of Cambodia, Angkor Wat, a twelfth-century temple and UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Despite the similarities, scouting in Cambodia also has its distinctions. Unlike in the United States, where separate scouting organizations exist for boys and girls, scouting in Cambodia is coeducational. Additionally, with Cambodia's relatively low standard of living, the nature of scouting is inherently different than in the United States. Scouts have no camping equipment, only blue tarps to shelter them from the elements. There are no tangible merit badges, only a book to keep track of them.

In many ways, the challenges Global Playground faces in Cambodia parallel those of the country's scouting movement. Cambodia is still reeling from the deep scars inflicted by the Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s, which sought to eradicate all signs of intellectualism and alleged Western influence. Cambodians with any education, or those who wore glasses and were therefore perceived as being literate, were systematically executed. If not murdered, urban Cambodians were often forcibly relocated to farms, where many died from overwork and exhaustion. Schools, banks, hospitals, and factories were closed; currency and finance were abolished.

The scars of this anti-intellectual campaign are still borne by Cambodia. Even as late as 2004, Cambodia was virtually devoid of schools because of the Khmer Rouge regime and only one-tenth of one percent of Cambodians had achieved a sixth-grade education. It is only through education that Cambodia can revive itself from the past, and that is where Global Playground comes in, having built a five-room school for the children of the Koh Kehl village. With access to education and a flourishing scout program operating at the school, the students at Koh Kehl are being provided opportunities not seen in generations. Through these opportunities, the effect of the atrocities of the past will be reversed.

-Jon Heifetz

Global Playground Unveils Teacher Toolkit at Foreign Languages Conference

2009-05-04T10:14:00.024-05:00

At the 2009 Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL), Global Playground unveiled its new Teacher Toolkit, which shows teachers how to connect their classrooms to students at Global Playground's schools across the world. Although foreign languages instruction might be an obvious outlet for cross-cultural dialogue, GP's Teacher Toolkit is not just for foreign language teachers. "There is room for a cross-cultural curriculum in every subject area," said board member Becca Sacra, the lead developer of the toolkit.

The toolkit provides primary school educators in the United States with lessons that can easily be incorporated into studies of other cultures and how those cultures differ from one's own. The toolkit has two main goals: facilitating cross-cultural dialogue and helping students develop a general awareness of culture. Among the lessons in the toolkit are a digital picture exchange and an artwork exchange piloted this past January by students at The Park School in Massachusetts and Global Playground's students in Thailand and Cambodia. Also included are exercises on geography and mapping, economics, a Web-based cultural scavenger hunt, and a video exchange piloted in 2008 at Brooklyn's P.S. 261.

Global Playground saw NECTFL as a fitting forum for unveiling the toolkit. Teaching foreign languages is fundamentally about teaching people how to connect to others who are different than themselves. Learning languages is about acquiring cultural sensitivity. To make the study of a language "real" to students, they must understand the people who speak that language on multiple levels, including both the words they use and their cultural values. "The typical [foreign language] teacher thinks in traditional pedagogical modes of grammar and vocabulary," observed board member Doug Bunch, "but language is a way of communicating on different levels."

Global Playground hopes that its presence at NECTFL encouraged participants to think broadly about the teaching of foreign languages and about how to incorporate cross-cultural education into their classrooms. The NECTFL platform also provided Global Playground the opportunity to learn from foreign language educators about which of the lesson plans they thought could most benefit their students. Global Playground's next target audience for the Teacher Toolkit will likely be teachers of social studies, but as Ms. Sacra has stressed, there is room for cross-cultural curriculum in every subject area.

Although several of the lessons in the Teacher Toolkit are self-contained and do not require special equipment, the lack of certain technologies in Global Playground's schools across the world creates an impediment to cross-cultural dialogue. For example, some of the projects completed to date required physically traveling to Uganda, Cambodia and Thailand to be the in-person conduits for the interactions.

Resources such as computers, Internet, and in some places even simple electricity will make such interactions easier. Global Playground is actively seeking donations to provide the necessary equipment to its schools. Global Playground will eventually launch its own platform to facilitate cross-cultural initiatives found in the Teacher Toolkit and elsewhere.

- Jennifer Rinker

A Cultural Exchange Through Artwork

2009-05-02T00:07:00.011-05:00

When Ashley Clevenger, a fifth grade teacher from The Park School in Brookline, Massachusetts, heard that Global Playground was building a library in northern Thailand, she jumped at the chance to involve her students.

Together, Clevenger and her students embarked on an adventure to depict the everyday life of children in America. Each student was responsible for making a drawing or collage that represented one specific aspect of their daily lives. "We brainstormed together about the things that make us American--that people from other countries would notice right away," said Clevenger.

Clevenger's students struggled most with how to conceptualize everyday life. Although her students had a basic understanding of what "culture" means, they had difficulty identifying "culture" in their own lives. They had to stop and think about the mundane parts of their lives, like their morning routines before heading off to school. Other elements of American culture were more obvious to them such as the types of houses they live in, the clothing they wear, the religions they practice, and the language they speak.

"The kids had a strong desire to communicate and took a lot of initiative throughout the project and sought feedback from others in the class," Clevenger remarked. One student who attempted to capture the American style of clothing drew jeans, skirts, and t-shirts and asked other kids in the class, "Does this make sense? Is this really what American kids wear?" The experience helped Clevenger's students realize that not all Americans are the same and that generalizations about culture are sometimes difficult to make.

As the students finished their artwork, many asked to also write a letter to their counterparts in southeast Asia. "I gave them little guidance [on the letters] except to make sure they mentioned their names, ages, where they live, and who is in their family," Clevenger said. "Otherwise, it was up to them what they wrote. And most had a lot of questions about kids in Cambodia and Thailand, so this was a good outlet for them." The exercise taught Clevenger's fifth graders that an inherent and incredible value exists in cultivating relationships within and across cultures.

This past January, Clevenger's students' artwork and letters arrived in Cambodia and Thailand along with Global Playground's representatives. The artwork was one of the numerous ways the children and Global Playground's representatives communicated despite language barriers. "It just seemed that we bonded [through the artwork]," said Global Playground representative Elen Chen. "Even though it was only two days, it seemed like we spent months there."

In exchange, the Global Playground representatives brought back a five-inch stack of letters and art from the Cambodian and Thai students to pass along to Clevenger's class. "I'm excited to see what the other kids have done," Clevenger added. "And my own students ask me frequently when I'm going to receive them in the mail!"

When electricity and technology are added to Global Playground's schools within the next few years, similar cultural exchanges--including those highlighted in Global Playground's Teacher's Toolkit--will be virtually instantaneous, children will build on each other's ideas, and the intensity and depth of cultural understanding will be heightened.

-Jennifer Rinker

GP Students Participate in Game Theory Experiment

2009-04-09T10:39:00.027-05:00

This past January, students at Global Playground's schools in Cambodia and Thailand participated in a "public goods" game theory experiment that gave valuable insights into the cultural mores and concerns of children in developing countries. Such insights may eventually help organizations such as Global Playground determine how best to provide development assistance.

Bill English, a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at Duke University, conducted the "public goods" game as part of his dissertation work. The game first involved allocating to each student in a classroom "enough play money to buy two pencils or pens," said English. Each student could then choose to deposit none, some, or all of his or her money into a community pot. "Any money in the community pot was doubled and then split equally amongst the players," explained English. If a student contributed nothing, the student would keep his or her original allocation and also receive a share of the community pot. Yet, if all participants made no contribution, the communal pot would ultimately be empty and no one would benefit from the doubling of the pot. At the end of the game, students were given pens and pencils--highly sought-after school supplies in developing countries--in exchange for whatever "money" they had won.

Developing economies are a research interest for English, who received some funding from Duke University to conduct the game theory experiment at Global Playground's schools. A fifth-year graduate student, English has studied the history of development aid, including projects that have been successful and some that have been not so successful. According to English, "one of the challenges in developing countries is to figure out how to sustain projects that advance the common good when individuals confront personal incentives to 'free ride' off the efforts of others and not contribute themselves."

Of the forty-six Cambodian students participating in the game, seventy percent chose not to "free-ride," but rather to contribute to the community pot, a relatively high number when compared to what has been observed in other cultures, said English. At the end of the game, students were then asked survey questions about the game and their attitudes and beliefs. "In the survey, many students reported that they expected classmates to contribute, and in practice most of these students contributed themselves," said English. This was interesting because the Cambodian students reported that "most cannot be trusted. Yet, they were very trusting, based upon contribution levels to this public goods game," said English. In addition, the students reported that "they were happy, despite poverty. Wealth doesn't correlate a lot with happiness," he said.

When English conducted the experiment a second time with the Cambodian students, contribution levels plummeted to approximately thirty-five percent. "If you play this game repeatedly, in three or four iterations the contributions usually go down to zero, if it is publicly observed that 'free-riders' make out like bandits," explained English. In Cambodia, the public goods game generated a great deal of interest among the students; some who had been playing outside came inside to watch the game.

As for the Thai students, in the one instance that the experiment was conducted with them, approximately fifty percent contributed to the community pot. The results illustrated a difference by gender; boys contributed slightly more than girls. The survey results also demonstrated that despite the standard of living being higher in Thailand, Thai students perceived health as more of a problem than the Cambodian students did. When surveyed about the greatest dangers in their lives, the Thai students placed environmental issues at the top of their lists. This is not unsurprising given that the Thai students, members of the Hmong and Karen "hill tribes," live in a region where a great deal of "slash and burn" lumbering occurs. In comparison, the Cambodian students were focused on their lack of material resources, as well as violent crime and theft.

Overall, the students at both sites "seemed to enjoy the 'public goods' game, and found it interesting," said English. The "public goods" game provided a snapshot of the concerns and attitudes that Global Playground's students hold--something that may be useful for determining how to best aid them in the future. It also provided additional insight into the difficulty of achieving cooperation when individual incentives are not in line with the group's overall welfare and it affirmed that local cultural mores affect individual responses to such dilemmas. English commented, "Hopefully, the exercise provided a useful teaching moment for the students, some useful insights for Global Playground, and some additional questions for the economic development literature."

-Jon Heifetz

For more information about Bill English's dissertation work and his work with the students at Global Playground's schools, you may contact him at wee@duke.edu.

Record Numbers Attend Global Playground's DC Event

2009-04-05T17:36:00.036-05:00

Hundreds packed the first floor of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on Friday, March 27, as Global Playground hosted its third annual Washington, DC event. This year's event celebrated Global Playground's project openings in Uganda, Cambodia, and Thailand, and its upcoming endeavor in Honduras. Those present ranged from infant Hannah Ng to ninety-three year old Violet Branagan and all those in between, including students from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, attorneys and staff from Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, representatives from Students Helping Honduras, alums of the College of William & Mary, and many other family and friends, some of whom traveled across the country and along the eastern seaboard to be present on Friday evening.

Among the treats of the night, not the least of which was the wonderful Thai food delicately prepared by Naovarat Branagan, those in attendance enjoyed the magical khim and kluy music of Pia Puatrakul and Noi Leekmek and the mesmerizing performances of Cambodian Master Dancers Suteera Nagavajara and Sochietah Ung from Cambodian-American Heritage, Inc., a nonprofit striving to preserve Cambodian art and culture in the United States. Those present were privileged to witness the Robaim Monosanchetana, an expressive and sentimental dance portraying an ornate royal courtship ritual and the sadness brought about by the separation of two lovers.

Sochietah Ung, who survived the genocide at the hands of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime in the mid-1970s, has been a master dancer since 1989 and is responsible for the elaborate costumes. Suteera Nagavajara has been studying and performing Cambodian classical dance since 2003 and is co-founder of the Somapa Thai Dance Company in Washington, DC.

Global Playground was also honored by the presence of dignitaries from the Thai, Ugandan, and Honduran embassies. Damrong Kraikruan, Charge d'Affaires of the Royal Thai Embassy, stressed the importance the Thai government places on education, highlighting that a sizable portion of his country's GDP is dedicated to education. Kraikruan also extended a heartfelt thanks to Global Playground for providing such a vital educational resource in the form of a library dedicated this past January in northern Thailand. Wendy Rivera, First Secretary, and Kay Gaekel, Second Secretary, of the Embassy of Honduras likewise expressed their thanks to Global Playground for its work around the world and evinced their excitement at the prospect of a Global Playground project in Honduras.

Michael Karugaba, Second Secretary of the Embassy of Uganda, repeatedly lauded Global Playground for mobilizing "youngsters," a reference to the many young professionals serving on Global Playground's board of directors and advisory committee, and in its worldwide network of volunteers. Secretary Karugaba, to the utter delight of those present, invoked Charles Dickens in his thanks to Global Playground. He acknowledged the broad and important impact Global Playground has had in his country's Waikiso district, but did not want "to be like Oliver Twist extending his bowl for more."

The evening was filled with similar charming conversation, wine, song and dance, and gourmet cuisine, not to mention the warm feelings of those who opened their hearts for Global Playground's mission. May we all be Oliver Twist in extending our bowls for more support to raise awareness and share resources with people of the developing world to create educational opportunities where they do not exist.

-Jennifer Rinker

Global Playground's School in Cambodia Opens with Fanfare

2009-03-16T11:28:00.029-05:00

It is common in Cambodia that Buddhist pagodas and schools share property. Both religion and education are central to Cambodian villages. Global Playground's five-room school in the Koh Kehl village is no exception, with Buddhist monks having graciously allowed classes to be held in their pagoda while the school was being built. It was therefore fitting that the monks began the school's opening ceremonies with incense and chanting before the hundreds in attendance and Global Playground's representatives, who were ushered before the monks to kneel in participation.

When Global Playground's representatives rose to their feet, the area before them was peppered with local government officials; hundreds of smiling school children, parents, and grandparents; and other proud members of the village, all sitting under elaborately colored tents. Global Playground Advisory Committee member Annie Yehl marveled, "The entire village was there to support the school! It really showcased how important education is to the people in the village and how they really saw this as an opportunity for their children to have better lives or just to enrich their lives." Global Playground "want[s] to have more schools like this" around the world so that even "more people can get excited about educating their children," Yehl added.

All these happy voices rang as several school children--members of the coveted government scout program--raised the Cambodian flag and led the singing of the Cambodian national anthem. The Minister of Education for Cambodia and the head of education for the local school district both gave lengthy speeches, which although presented in the native language of Khmer no doubt commemorated the school's opening, stressed the importance of education for the future of Cambodia, and thanked Global Playground for its assistance. Board member Doug Bunch remarked, "It is very moving to see that Global Playground is having such a broad impact."

This outpouring of local support was no accident. When Global Playground undertakes a project, it strives to find partnering organizations with strong local connections and a robust track record of building schools. "Global Playground utilizes a set of approximately ten criteria," said Bunch, "to identify ideal partners for [its] projects, with local government connections one of the chief criteria." For Cambodia, that partnering organization clearly was American Assistance for Cambodia (AAfC), which has successfully built more than four hundred viable schools. For the Koh Kehl school, AAfC provided the necessary in-country support and secured matching funds for Global Playground's $13,000 contribution in the form of a loan from the Asian Development Bank to the Cambodian government. Importantly, as board member Doug Smith acknowledged, "AAfC has executed an agreement with the Cambodian Ministry of Education that Cambodia will support the school and make it its own." This link between the government and the school "stresses a key part of Global Playground's mission to empower the local communities where our schools are located," Smith said.

-Jennifer Rinker

Education Key to Alleviating Child Trafficking in Cambodia

2009-03-11T09:11:00.032-05:00

Last January, Global Playground had the opportunity to visit the Sao Sary Foundation ("SSF"), located an hour's drive outside of Cambodia's capitol city of Phnom Penh. SSF was founded in 2006 to "help improve the living standard of the poorest of the poor and vulnerable families . . . and to develop support for the education of orphans and other vulnerable children." The ultimate goal of SSF is to ensure that vulnerable children are kept safe from all forms of violence, exploitation, and abuse, especially child trafficking. This was also the lifelong goal of the foundation's namesake, Sao Sary, deputy chief of Takeo province in Kus commune, who was gunned down after intervening in a robbery.

SSF runs a house where students live so they can attend school, develop skills, and generally be in a safer environment than they might otherwise be in their own homes. Children at SSF are considered those particularly susceptible to being trafficked, such as those who have been trafficked before, who live well below the poverty line, or who come from single-parent households or families with physical disabilities and low earning potential. In addition, the beauty of a child and lack of access to education also make a child a likely target for trafficking.

To contribute to their keep and to support SSF, the girls who live at SSF spend hours on end making hundreds of elaborate flowers fashioned out of metal rods and colorful nylon, which are then sold at market for use in weddings or other ceremonies. But not all of the organization's work is at the home itself--much of what the organization does extends into the community. Global Playground saw SSF's outreach efforts firsthand when it toured the Cambodian countryside and visited with several of the families that SSF is helping. One family consisted of a single mother and her daughter who were living in a dilapidated structure, but because the home had no walls the daughter was in constant danger of abduction and trafficking given her beauty. SSF is rebuilding the home. In other cases, SSF teaches families how to run a business and provides them with startup capital to do so. For example, SSF taught one mother whom Global Playground visited how to raise fish and grow rice and morning glories (a marketable vegetable in Cambodia) so that she could keep her family out of poverty and her daughters safe.

Global Playground visited SSF to better understand the importance of bolstering education in Cambodia. Board member Doug Smith stated, "Part of the reason Global Playground is operating in Cambodia is because there is child trafficking and education is a means to alleviate it." Although SSF's goal is not education alone, Global Playground does see education as the ultimate preventative measure. "If kids are in school and gaining education to allow them to enter jobs successfully and earn decent income, then trafficking is not as serious of a risk," said board member Doug Bunch.

During its visit, Global Playground purchased the entire inventory of the girls' nylon flowers and will sell them at Global Playground's March 27 event in Washington, DC at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

-Jennifer Rinker

To read the profile of one of the families SSF is helping and to view pictures from Global Playground's visit with the family, click here.

Global Playground Opens a Library in Northern Thailand

2009-02-23T21:13:00.030-05:00

This past January when a Global Playground delegation trekked into the mountains of northern Thailand, they received a pleasant surprise. What they expected to find was Global Playground's library at the Huay Pung Mai school still under construction given that it was scheduled for completion in the spring. Instead, they found a fully-constructed library complete with bookshelves, hundreds of books, and students inside studying math, science, and even English.

The library was constructed in only seven weeks instead of the anticipated three months thanks to the leadership of Khun Noi, Huay Pung Mai's principal, and the dedication of the students and their parents. Many of the students spent their free periods during the school day helping to construct the library, such as by transporting brick to the construction site. Meanwhile, their parents labored day-in and day-out to construct the library in time for the arrival of Global Playground's delegation.

"When we arrived at the library, the parents were putting the finishing touches on the library by painting the school's name on it and fastening the doors. You could tell that the principal, teachers, and parents were so proud to have the library constructed in time for us and to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony when we arrived," said Doug Smith, a Global Playground board member.

The library will serve 280 students living in Thailand's Mae Hong Son province, a mountainous region with a large minority population of ethnic "hill tribe" groups who migrated from China and Tibet during the past few centuries, each bringing their own language and culture. Students at Huay Pung Mai are from two "hill tribes": the Hmong and the Karen. The Karen, numbering more than 400,000, are the largest of the ten "hill tribes" in northern Thailand. Some of the Karen youth attending Huay Pung Mai are from villages as far away as sixteen miles. With their homes so far away, these children must live at the school for months at a time, particularly during the rainy season when dirt roads become impassable. Currently, fifty-four students live at Huay Pung Mai. The school's dormitory can accommodate up to one hundred.

The library will be integral to the students' studies. "With so many children living at school and with the school day more than eight hours long, an additional building for study [was] necessary," said Edward Branagan, Global Playground's executive director. Global Playground hopes that within the next three years the Huay Pung Mai School will be connected through Internet technology to other Global Playground schools around the world. Through such connections, the children at Huay Pung Mai will learn about cultures and parts of the world vastly different from their own.

"I think the library will be one of the tools to enhance the [educational] experience for the kids," and "a way to encourage them to think bigger, to think of the possibilities that are there for them," said Ms. Elen Chen, a software engineer with ACM of Orange County, California who was also part of Global Playground's eight-member delegation.

To construct the library, Global Playground partnered with the Samsara Foundation. Global Playground provided $13,385 for the library and the Samsara Foundation oversaw its construction. "Seeing the library at the school, it looked just like any other library . . . but that was the amazing part, [as] we were in a remote area of Thailand. I think that is a testament to the work of Global Playground and the Samsara Foundation," said Dan Quach, an information technology professional with Acquity Group of Orange County, California who also participated in the trip.

The Samsara Foundation is a nonprofit that focuses on educational development in the remote mountain villages of northern Thailand. It has relationships with more than a hundred different schools in the Mae Hong Son province and in conjunction with the Thai Ministry of Education and local communities has built canteens, schools, dormitories, and libraries. Its projects are managed by Annelie Hendriks, a Dutch national who has relocated to Thailand, and Ratana Keunkeaw, a Thai citizen.

Global Playground discovered Samsara in 2007 when board members Doug Bunch and Edward Branagan traveled throughout southeast Asia meeting with potential partnering organizations and looking for a suitable project site. "We chose to partner with Samsara because it serves some of the poorest children in Thailand, [has] strong relationships with both the local government and local communities, and [has] an impressive track record in completing projects," said Branagan. In addition, we hold the common belief of strong community involvement in our respective initiatives. We really wanted to ensure that the communities whose children will benefit from the new library would contribute their labor and any other special skills that they [could] provide and as we saw that happened."

For Chen, she leapt at the "chance to see what a nonprofit organization is all about." She would recommend visiting a Global Playground project site to anyone interested in seeing first-hand what Global Playground does. When asked if Global Playground is truly serving the children at its project sites, she firmly responded with a yes.

Having returned to her work and family life in Orange County, Chen hopes that the "high" of her trip to Cambodia and Thailand will sustain itself; she aspires to "become more unselfish" with her time. "It's always easier to donate, and not be a participant," she said. But as she rediscovered after spending a couple of days interacting with the children at Huay Pung Mai, becoming a participant and volunteering one's time can be rewarding on an entirely different level.

-Jon Heifetz

Soccer Kicks Off at Global Playground's Schools

2009-01-27T22:46:00.035-05:00

Throughout the world, and especially in sub-Saharan Africa, children play the world's most popular sport. Clearings in the brush become transformed into clouds of dust as hundreds of feet enthusiastically pursue the ball. When Global Playground visited the children at its school in Uganda, enthusiasm for the game ran just as high, but no games were played. That will soon change though thanks to Global Playground supporters Kari and Ben "Doc" Fiore-Walker and to D.C. United, a Major League Soccer team in the nation's capital.

The story begins with a simple question Russ Altenburg, Global Playground's vice chairman, asked to a few children at Global Playground's school in Uganda: "Who's the best player for France?" The children had disputed opinions. Some said Henry; others said Zidane. What was not in dispute, however, was their obvious passion for the sport. But when asked about their own play, they shrugged: "Do you guys all play football?" Russ asked. "Mmmm . . . Yes. But we have not football." "No ball?" Russ said. "Yes." One brave young man then asked, "Can you . . . can you buy for us?"

When Kari saw a video of that conversation in Global Playground's documentary, she was moved to tears. Kari told her husband, Doc, of the children's plea, who in turn relayed it to his friend, Chad Ashton, an assistant coach for D.C. United. Coach Ashton came through by donating nine soccer balls previously used by the pro-footballers. This coming May, many of those balls will make the trip from the 56,000-seat RFK Stadium to the red-dirt clearing at Global Playground's school in Uganda where soccer will finally kick off.

Obtaining the donation from D.C. United was not the end of Kari and Doc's efforts. Last October, their son Liam became a one-year-old. In lieu of gifts for Liam at his birthday party, Kari and Doc asked people to bring used or new soccer balls to benefit the children at Global Playground's schools around the world. "Everyone was delighted to help," Kari said. "My son is very fortunate. He has all the toys he needs. I just thought this would bring a lot more smiles to a lot more kids." Kari was indeed right. This past January, Global Playground delivered some of the twenty-nine soccer balls collectively donated by D.C. United and Liam's friends to smiling children at Global Playground's schools in Cambodia and Thailand. Games with the balls ensued for hours, turning dormant fields into clouds of dust.

Global Playground's vision is to create a worldwide network of schools so that children from all parts of the world can interact and learn from one other, much like they would on a playground or soccer field. Through this interaction, Global Playground hopes that children will learn to appreciate cultural differences, and discover commonalities among themselves and others. Perhaps football will be the first commonality they will find. Football, after all, is the number one sport in Uganda, Cambodia, and Thailand.

-Jennifer Rinker with Doug Smith

To see the video of Russ Altenburg's soccer discussion with the children at Global Playground's school in Uganda, click here.

School Is in Session

2008-12-13T10:15:00.014-05:00

Global Playground's school in Uganda has officially opened and welcomed its first class. Forty kindergarten students are now regularly attending class, with students in P1 through P5 expected to matriculate by early 2009. Ultimately, the school will serve nearly three hundred students from six villages, including the village of Buwasa in which the school is located.

The school is a joint undertaking of Global Playground and Building Tomorrow, a nonprofit that operates in Uganda. Global Playground has provided $33,500, the
lion's share of the cost to build the school,
while Building Tomorrow has overseen the school's construction. The school is constructed of high-quality brick on a foundation of clay and contains eight rooms fronted by a portico. Seven of the rooms will be used as classrooms and the eighth will double as a library and the principal's office. "The school will give students the opportunity to advance as high as P7," said Edward Branagan, Global Playground's executive director.

Global Playground faced many challenges in bringing its first project to fruition. Construction began in September 2007, one month after the land for the school was acquired. During the next nine months, however, a series of delays ensued, resulting from difficulties in acquiring construction materials and increases in material, construction, and transportation costs. Unrest from the 2007 presidential election in neighboring Kenya drove transportation costs higher by causing fuel prices in Uganda to soar. Additionally, Uganda suffered from poor weather conditions during its rainy season, further delaying construction.

Uganda's Ministry of Education was supposed to provide seven teachers and a headmaster for the school by May 2008. But the ministry "just didn't allocate enough teachers [in time]," said Branagan. So far, the ministry has only provided two teachers and the headmaster but has committed to providing the remaining five teachers in time for the new academic term beginning in January 2009. The difficulties in getting teachers, noted Branagan, are representative of "something that occurs in the developing world. Government [agencies] aren't as reliable as they are [in the United States]."

Global Playground has high but realistic hopes for the school. With sixty percent of Uganda's population under age eighteen, "there's a huge market and demand for school[ing]," said Branagan. If too many children are in a class though, "it can detract from the educational experience of others. The idea is to have reasonable class sizes of around forty," said Branagan, who noted that in May 2009, Global Playground intends to send representatives to Uganda to check on the school again and to see it in full swing.

Once fully operational, the school will not operate in a vacuum but rather as part of Global Playground's network of schools. "The key is definitely for this [school] to be part of a network of cross-cultural exchange," said Doug Bunch, Global Playground's chairman. The seeds of this exchange were planted last January when Becca Sacra, a teacher at P.S. 261 in Brooklyn, New York, traveled to Buwasa and brought video footage of her students to show to the Ugandan children. In the future, Global Playground hopes to link the school with the students at Global Playground's other project sites in Cambodia and Thailand.

"Our vision, down the line, is to create a small network of schools" where a "child from Cambodia or Uganda can engage in some sort of cross-cultural communication," Branagan said. "The idea is to allow students the opportunity to engage in an exchange with someone who is different than themselves." Through this exchange, Global Playground hopes that children will obtain a greater understanding of themselves and others.

-Jon Heifetz

2007-2008 Annual Report

2008-11-05T18:18:00.003-05:00

Global Playground is pleased to present its 2007-2008 Annual Report. The Annual Report details our successes and challenges over the past year and our vision for the next several years. We thank all of the donors and supporters who have made our work possible, and we invite you to read more about what we have accomplished. Come help us build it... one school at a time.

Recycling, Redeeming, and Contributing to a Better Tomorrow

2008-09-30T21:31:00.017-05:00

Last school year, the Saints Felicitas and Perpetua School in San Marino, California recycled more than 11,000 containers in a school-wide recycling campaign. The purpose of this recycling campaign, however, was not to conserve energy or to save natural resources for a greener planet but rather to help children in developing countries. By redeeming the containers for approximately $560 and donating the money to Global Playground, the students nevertheless contributed to a better tomorrow.

The school-wide recycling campaign arose after the student ecology commissioner and her faculty advisor decided to put an end to the thousands of plastic containers that went unrecycled at the school in previous years. "Everyone pitched in to the campaign," said Laura Schmidt, a fourth-grade teacher. "The school set up recycling bins in classrooms and near lunch benches; students advertised the campaign; maintenance staff and student council members collected the containers; and parents took the containers to the local grocery store for redemption. The whole process was extremely well run."

The campaign was so well run that a wider recycling campaign was even launched. Before Thanksgiving, the school had a "Recycling Bonanza" day when students could bring in as many aluminum cans and plastic bottles from home as they could manage. More than 1500 containers were brought to school that day or nearly six containers per student. "That single day of recycling alone raised about $75 for Global Playground," said Ms. Schmidt. "It was a great way for the kids to give to others in an age-appropriate and manageable way. One of my students even went beyond what he could manage to bring to school. After realizing he couldn't bring all of his bags of bottles and cans to school, he decided to recycle them himself and instead bring the proceeds to school."

The school's principal and teachers chose Global Playground as the beneficiary of the recycling campaign because they wanted to teach the students about the importance of furthering a mission and helping others well beyond their local communities. "With Global Playground's tangible goal of building schools in developing countries and promoting equal education for all, it seemed a perfect fit for the recycling campaign," said Ms. Schmidt. "Seeing pictures of Global Playground's school in Uganda being constructed and the children who would benefit from the school really brought Global Playground's mission to life and drove the campaign."

In conjunction with the recycling campaign, Ms. Schmidt's fourth-grade class researched and learned about Uganda's educational system for two weeks. The two weeks of study culminated in Ms. Schmidt's fourth graders creating posters and giving oral presentations about Uganda to the other students in the school. Their posters and presentations largely focused on the inequalities between their own educational experience and the educational experience of their peers in Uganda. For example, the students noted that in sharp contrast to the hundreds of dollars worth of school supplies and materials they each receive, the students in Uganda barely even have pencils and paper.

During their presentations, the students also suggested ideas for eliminating the inequalities they highlighted. "So here's how you can help," they said. "Pray for those less fortunate than you. Be thankful for what you have and don't waste. Be aware of the lack of education in Uganda and other problems in the world and how we as a world can change them. Donate to Global Playground and other organizations by recycling at home and at school." To encourage their peers to heed the last piece of advice, one group of students made a poster of the Ugandan flag--a crane in a white circle on a field of black, yellow, and red stripes--and then held it proudly while urging their classmates to action: "Please bring in your bottles, so we can help the people in Uganda who live on less than a dollar a day!"

In the end, the children realized that receiving an education at all let alone attending a well-funded school is a tremendous privilege. More importantly, the recycling campaign encouraged them to become activists for a better tomorrow. In essays Ms. Schmidt's students wrote about Uganda, several students hoped that in the future they could effect change in Uganda and other developing countries so that every child in the world could have an opportunity to attend school.

-Doug Smith in collaboration with Laura Schmidt

The Brooklyn Bridge to Uganda

2008-09-16T20:45:00.045-05:00

This past year, Becca Sacra, a teacher at P.S. 261 in Brooklyn, New York and a Global Playground volunteer, proposed building another Brooklyn Bridge. Rather than merely spanning Brooklyn and Manhattan, this bridge would span more than 7000 miles and connect her third-grade students with the students at Global Playground's school in Buwasa, Uganda. While the original Brooklyn Bridge was described as the "eighth wonder of the world" when it was built, how would her students and the Ugandan students describe each other? What would each learn, and what similarities or differences would each notice?

With the belief that teaching cross-cultural awareness is becoming increasingly important in our ever-more interconnected world, Ms. Becca (as she is known to her students) wanted to take advantage of her trip to Uganda. She proposed videotaping her students in class 3-315 talking about their lives and asking students at Global Playground's school in Uganda about theirs. Class 3-315 responded eagerly to Ms. Becca's proposal; the students brainstormed their questions for homework and then the next day in class practiced asking their questions.

When the videotape began to roll, the children were definitely not camera-shy! They asked:

What kinds of food do you eat?
What games do you play?
Who are you friends with?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
What do you do for fun?
What do you learn about?
Do you feel special about yourself?

The children were also eager to share their hopes and dreams for their futures and their personal stories. "I have a mama, a papa, and a little sister," said one child. Another said, "Here is my school. We love to play outside to get out all of our energies!" By the end of the day, the children were squirming with excitement about how the Ugandan children would respond.

Ms. Becca premiered the video this past January in Uganda under the shade of tropical trees and with the assistance of a laptop. "The Ugandan children were completely enthralled. They had never seen a movie before, let alone the ethnic diversity of our fabulous cast of characters!" said Ms. Becca. "More than just the children were interested. Adults also gathered around, poking their heads above the mesmerized crowd of children."

In addition to the ethnic diversity of Ms. Becca's class and the movie itself, the Ugandan students were amazed by America's schools. "They could not believe the incredible resources available in the classroom," said Ms. Becca. "To get a sense of what they must have been feeling, you would have to imagine looking at America's classrooms through the eyes of a child who has no electricity or running water and knows nothing other than walking more than six miles to arrive at a school with open windows and a dirt floor." Although this cross-cultural exchange in part highlighted the abundance in America, it also served as a reminder of how much people throughout this world have in common. "Well, maybe with the exception of homework," said Ms. Becca. One of her students, Shakiem, said to the Ugandan students, "I don't like homework. Do you like homework?" The answer from the Ugandan students: a resounding "Mmmm . . . Yes!"

Ms. Becca also spent time videotaping the Ugandan students. "No, we have no TV, but we love football and volleyball," said one student. "We do not have jump ropes, but we love to jump with these," another student said while holding tied-together banana fibers. And despite their poverty, the children have high hopes for the future. Many dream of becoming drivers, police officers, nurses, teachers, doctors, and lawyers.

When class 3-315 viewed the video of the Ugandan students, they were as fascinated as their peers in Uganda had been. Students instantly noticed that all of the girls had short hair and wondered why this was so. "I learned that they don't have as many toys to play with, but they still have fun," said Mya. "If you think about it," said Pace, "you don't need a lot of stuff to play most of my favorite recess games. . . . You just need other kids!"

The video of the Ugandan students also led to more questions from her students, prompted interesting discussions, and spurred Ms. Becca's students to action. "Where do they go to the bathroom and how do they take showers?" Angus wanted to know. "This spurred a discussion about the availability of water in America and the need to not take water for granted," recalled Ms. Becca. After learning from one Ugandan student that his entire village could not afford a single soccer ball, class 3-315 immediately became problem solvers and started developing fundraising ideas.

By merely videotaping students in Brooklyn and in Uganda, the traditional boundaries of distance were momentarily erased. Students in both places were able to see and hear what other children sound like in their learning environments. This sort of cross-cultural exchange is exactly what Global Playground hopes to achieve when it builds a virtual playground that will connect its students around the world. By connecting people, even with a virtual bridge, peace and understanding become a real possibility.

- Doug Smith in collaboration with Becca Sacra

To view excerpts from the cross-cultural exchange between Ms. Becca's students and the students in Uganda, click here. You may also contact Ms. Becca at becca.sacra@theglobalplayground.org.

A Fundraiser of Olympic Proportions

2008-09-16T09:22:00.013-05:00

On a sunny Saturday afternoon in late April, the Bologna Center of Johns Hopkins University's Graduate School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) hosted an unconventional fundraiser for Global Playground: a mock Olympiad. While competition in the events of this Olympiad would more likely be found outside Global Playground's schools than in Beijing's Water Cube or Bird's Nest, these games nonetheless exemplified the Olympic spirit by blending sport with culture and education.

The games--held in Parco Talon on the outskirts of Bologna, Italy--featured more than one hundred SAIS students competing in team events on behalf of little-known countries such as Vanuatu in the South Pacific. Spirited competition ensued from the outset. In the games' first event, Team Guatemala showcased its athletic abilities with a resounding victory in the egg-spoon relay, advancing its unscrambled "baton" beyond the finish line dozens of egg-lengths ahead of the nearest competitor. "The outcome was never in doubt," declared Guatemala's Rob Miller. "And criticism that our egg spent less time on a spoon than it did bouncing along the ground was uncalled for. Egg intact, we crossed the line first. Should Team Cyprus lodge a formal protest, we'll fight it to the bitter end."

Other events included a three-legged race, which left more than a few students sprawled across the grass; skin-blistering battles of tug-o'-war; intercontinental dodgeball; and a bat spin relay with a "twist." Amidst these "formal" events, impromptu wrestling matches and egg tosses broke out while a motley band of musicians strummed guitars and hummed tunes. Spectators, most of them local Italians who thought they were only out for a leisurely day at the park, grew in number throughout the afternoon, reaching their peak during the fiercely competitive dodgeball tournament.

Ultimately, the purpose of all this madness was not mere folly. "These Olympic games took advantage of my classmates' penchant for having fun and making positive contributions to the global community," said Edward Branagan, a Global Playground board member and one of a handful of organizers for the Olympics. "And what a contribution the SAIS students made to Global Playground! With each participant paying a ten-euro entry fee, these games raised more than $1600, or nearly ten percent of the funds needed to help Global Playground build a new, five-room middle school for the children of Cambodia's Koh Khel village."

More than the mock Olympiad links Global Playground and the Bologna Center, which was founded in 1955 to educate future leaders to reach beyond national boundaries and biases. Both entities share an objective of promoting cross-cultural understanding and believe that the answers to the world's myriad problems lie in education. The latter is particularly true in Cambodia. Hampered by years of civil war and the extermination of its teachers and educated elite during the late 1970s, Cambodia remains a land where quality education is a rarity. The country is heavily dependent on foreign aid and will only break the cycle of dependence after developing an educated, empowered populace.

At the end of the day, the 2008 Bologna Center Olympic Games were a smashing success. Buoyed by the perfect weather and a beautiful setting, students escaped their books and the claustrophobic porticos of central Bologna for an afternoon of fresh air and physical exertion. Bruises and blisters notwithstanding, the physical activity did everyone good, including the children in Cambodia. Although Team India officially won the gold, narrowly besting Team Guatemala, a SAIS student summed up the games nicely when announcing the results: "Congratulations! You're all winners. And so are the kids of Cambodia."

- Ryker Labbee

Global Playground Unveils Its Third Project: A New Library in Thailand

2008-09-07T16:28:00.011-05:00

With the Cambodian school project more than sixty percent complete, Global Playground announces its third project. In conjunction with the Samsara Foundation, Global Playground will build a $13,385 library for an existing school in northern Thailand.

In May 2007, board members Doug Bunch and Edward Branagan met with the executive director of Samsara -- a NGO based in Chiang Mai, Thailand -- to learn about educational issues in Thailand and to discuss potential projects. They learned that although southern and central Thailand have experienced relatively high levels of educational development, the northern and eastern regions have lagged far behind in comparison. Enhancing access to education for children in those regions is now a key goal for both the Thai government and Global Playground.

With the support of local communities and the Thai Ministry of Education, Samsara has built educational infrastructure, such as dormitories and libraries. It has also cultivated relationships with more than one hundred public schools in the Mae Hong Song province of northern Thailand. According to Edward Branagan, "The close, well-established, and extensive relationship that Samsara has with the Thai Ministry of Education and the local hill-tribe communities, along with its proven track record, make it an ideal partnering organization for Global Playground."

The library will benefit the "hill-tribe" communities, or ethnic minority groups, which predominantly populate northern Thailand, and whose children remain at school throughout the week given the long distances that they must travel to attend school. "With the opening of the library, children will be able to pull a book down from the shelves, place it on a table, and sit down to discover a whole new world," said Doug Bunch. "It will be great that these children will have a place to continue their studying and learning after normal school hours."

Construction of the library will begin in early November and is expected to be completed by February 2009. Global Playground intends to visit the project site in early January 2009 and hopes that shortly thereafter the library can be used as a platform to initiate cross-cultural communications among children in Thailand, Cambodia, Uganda, and wherever Global Playground goes next!

Learn more about the Thailand project here.

Visiting Our First School

2008-03-28T01:43:00.078-05:00

Are children in Africa better off than they were a year and half ago when Global Playground did not exist? To answer that question, we traveled more than 7000 miles to visit with the children of six villages within the Wakiso District of Uganda. When we arrived, these children did not know our names. They barely understood from where we had come. They nonetheless immediately wrapped their arms around our legs and held our hands, for we had finally come. We were the ones. The ones who had brought them hope. The ones who had brought them a brighter future and a longer life. The ones who had brought them a school.

If you had joined us on our trip to visit the six villages that will benefit from Global Playground's first school, the following is what you would have experienced. So come and imagine the fanfare that would have surrounded your arrival and experience the hope that you--as a supporter of Global Playground--have brought to the children in Uganda. This is what supporting Global Playground is all about.

*****

As Global Playground's van turns off the main road and heads down a dusty, dirt road toward four of the villages, you see tropical trees and mud-sided huts flanked by chickens, pigs, and half-clothed children playing in the dirt. You bounce around as the van slowly makes its way down the pot-hole-ridden road, and you turn your attention to a woman and a child alongside the road. "We're coming! We're coming! Can you give us a ride?," the woman says. That instant you realize that the village leaders have gotten wind of your arrival and have "mobilized" their entire villages to greet you.

Turning quickly around in your seat to the sounds of cheers and laughter, you see a few children beginning to run full speed after the van. "Muzungu! Muzungu!," they cry out after seeing someone different looking than themselves for perhaps the first time in their lives. Those children are then quickly joined by others who dart out from the tropical trees lining the road. Soon a hundred or more children are running full speed after the van, cheering and waving. Upon reaching the school, you see a large crowd, numbering in the hundreds, all gathered in a clearing. The emotions are overwhelming. Tears begin welling up in your eyes as the cheering and clapping outside the van reaches a crescendo.

Thunderous applause and cheers greet you as you step out of the van. You are quickly surrounded by dozens of children whom you begin greeting. Shaking hands quickly becomes difficult, as a few children grasp onto your legs and hold onto your arms. The next thing you know you are escorted to furniture set up in a clearing shaded by banana trees. The furniture is not fancy by any means, but it's the best they have; they've carried it from a mile away or more and covered it with delicate croqueted linens peppered with holes. You sit like a celebrity amidst hundreds of people whom you had never met.

As you sit, you see workers laying brick for the school in the African heat and the beautiful colors of the dresses worn by the African woman glistening in the sun; they have worn their best for your arrival. The village leader introduces himself and members of the construction committee. In the native tongue, he speaks about how thankful his village is for the school and Global Playground's efforts, which have brought his village much hope. You are then asked to stand and introduce yourself. The emotional outpouring leaves you at a loss for words, but words need not be conveyed. You are the one. You are part of Global Playground. You are the one who has helped bring them a school.

"Happy we are . . . Happy we are today!," one group of children comes forth singing while swaying and swinging their arms. Another group follows, kicking up the dirt and shrugging their shoulders to "Ca . . . lyp . . . so!" Yet another group follows. They point to themselves while cheerfully and melodically proclaiming, "We . . . We are the futcha leaders of Ganda." There you sit, attentively watching group after group of girls and boys welcoming your arrival with singing and dancing. For nearly an hour, you see their parents proudly watching and clapping along with their children. Then out of the trees a man emerges carrying a linen-covered tray full of sodas; he hands you one. Seeing the abject poverty of these people, you realize the significance of this gesture and drink every last drop. Fully refreshed, it's now time for you to sing a song or two and learn how to dance the African way. Your songs are much different than theirs and evoke much laughter and applause, only to be eclipsed later by the laughter brought about by your feeble attempts to shake your hips to the beat of the music.

You are then invited to tour the school, which is under construction. The children follow eagerly behind you as you make your way down the red dirt road and into the school's courtyard. As you walk around the school, two little boys hold your arm while a girl holds your hand. One of the boys then introduces you to his father who is standing on lashed-together log scaffolding and laying brick for the school. "I work here without pay so my son can learn and have a bright future. He will get the education that I could not," he says. Continuing to walk around the school, you see a child piling bricks into a wheelbarrow and driving it around to the back of the school where his father is working. He makes several trips, with the wheelbarrow precariously close to toppling over each time. At one point, you stop and help him push the wheelbarrow over a large bump. Without saying a word, he continues on, focused on the task at hand.

With the sun setting, you say goodbye to your new friends. "Welaba! Webare! Webare!," they say in their native tongue while cheering and waving. On the hour's drive back to Kampala, the capital of Uganda, you replay the day's events in your mind. Only if you could do more than you have. The need is greater than you could have imagined.

The next day, you visit the other two villages whose children will attend Global Playground's school. Like the day before, you are emotionally overwhelmed by the village members cheering your arrival. Again, you sit in the shade on the finest furniture brought from their houses. Again, you are treated like a celebrity and listen to the village leaders. "So I got the information of you coming here today . . . but I had a problem. . . . I was around nine miles away so I rushed from there so that I meet you here. I am very glad to meet you. Thank you for your coming. I heard you are building a school to develop our area . . . . So I thank you for that. You have many kids here who are orphans and not orphans who will benefit from that school. And more so we parents because as you see we are poor somehow but trying to develop. I am proud to let you know that we are a collaborator village. . . . So we are ready to collaborate with you in whatever kind of things."

After the village leader speaks, you are treated to sugar cane, jack fruit, and another festive celebration. A solo drummer beats his drum, as groups of boys and girls come forth, singing and dancing in brightly colored, yet tattered, clothing. Around their waists they wear brightly colored sashes, which are worn only during special occasions. As clouds of dust fill the air from the dancing, you are told that many of the songs have been specifically prepared for your arrival. They sing: "We are overjoyed that you are here. We did not believe you would ever come."

After the singing and dancing, several mothers come forth to sit on the ground before you. They do not say a word but begin weaving crafts--elaborate baskets and mats. The baskets are in beautiful green and white geometric patterns and made of banana fibers. The village leader invites you to inspect their work and to ask them questions. It takes nearly an entire day to make a basket, which will earn only 5,500 Ugandan Shillings or $3 at market. The village leader proudly announces that these mothers came together and traveled dozens of miles to attend a workshop so they could learn how to make crafts. Their driving purpose: to sell their goods at market so their children can have books and school supplies at the Global Playground school.

A few children then invite you to tour their village. Snapping a few pictures, the children are fascinated by your digital camera. Several times they request their picture to be taken, nearly all never having seen a photograph of themselves. You graciously accept their request and take their picture. No one recognizes themselves in the picture until their friends point them out. They then laugh and smile and tug at your hand to get a closer look. At times, you allow them to snap a few pictures of their own; they quickly adapt to the technology and are eager to learn. During your tour, your discussion turns from how they live, to how they farm, to football--their version of soccer. "Do you like to play football?," you ask. "Mmmmm . . . yes," they answer while raising their eyebrows and lifting their chins to the sky. "But we have no ball."

You return to the center of the village and show the children the school supplies that you have brought for them. You hold up crayons, pencils, globes, calculators, construction paper, and scissors. You hand each child a pencil. Child after child clutches his or her new possession with two hands and pulls it in tight to his or her heart as an expression of happiness, excitement, and an insatiable eagerness to learn. With the globes, you show them where you live and, for perhaps the first time, where they live in our world.

After seeing two days of festive singing and dancing, you could not have imagined a more lively welcome. But then Global Playground presents an African drum that it had bought for $12 at a craft village in Kampala. Wow! Upon presenting the drum, all those who are gathered around go wild. It's as if the villages had won the Super Bowl! A lady holding a baby jumps up and down while others cheer and do an African call much like the sound of a child imitating a native American. The village's designated drummer is so elated; the new drum is much larger than the old one he began the day with. He takes hold of the new drum, thrusts it into the air, places it between his legs, and immediately begins tapping out a beat. He passes his old drum to a child who has been longing to be a drummer too. As the drummer vigorously taps out rhythms and beats, everyone dances. The mothers and grandmothers come to the center and begin dancing; the children laugh at the unusual sight. Two men are then recruited to dance and fashioned with the colorful sashes that are traditionally worn by the women on special occasions. This brings even more laughter and excitement. At the end of the song, the village leader enthusiastically pounds out a few more beats, takes the drum, and thrusts it once again into the air. He places the drum down and empathically says, "We should not take this drum for granted. This drum should motivate us to go and work in Buwasa on the school! It is a gift to show everybody that it is not only a drum but part of a bigger thing which is the school in Buwasa. Go and help build the school!"

*****

Global Playground's school in Uganda will officially open in May 2008, in time for the beginning of the second semester. For many of the children living in the six villages within the Wakiso Distrct, they will step inside a school for the first time in their lives. For the remaining children, they will no longer have to endure the six mile walk to and from school to gain the education that they know will improve their fortunes, prolong their lives, and raise them up from the clutches of poverty. These children now have Global Playground's school. It is their own.

We could not have built the Uganda school without supporters like you. On behalf of the children in the six villages within the Wakiso District, we pass along their message of wholehearted thanks. You are their celebrities. You are the ones. The ones who have brought them a school.

Inspired by our trip to Buwasa, we will not stop there. We are on to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where we are building a middle school. We are also on to Thailand and then to other countries. Can you imagine the impact that your support of Global Playground will have in these countries?

-Doug Smith

To make a donation online or for more information, visit our Web site at http://www.theglobalplayground.org/.

A New Christmas Tradition

2008-03-04T11:36:00.042-05:00

What is the recipe for the best Christmas ever? For some, the warm and sleepy feeling of a stomach full of Christmas cookies and other delights. For others, a shortage of outlets to plug in their new gadgets. For the Beard family in western Virginia, largely dispensing with exchanging gifts this past Christmas and instead collectively making a donation to Global Playground.

As wads of tattered wrapping paper were trashed and gifts were jammed into trunks the Christmas before, Gwen Beard's brother-in-law, Dale Poynter, suggested that the Beard family adopt a new family tradition. Instead of just giving "stuff," he said, perhaps they should adopt a new family tradition of giving one present each and focusing their remaining gift-giving efforts on a charity. This suggestion struck a chord with Gwen who had long desired to move away from accumulating more "things" to giving gifts that continued to benefit others.

Which charity should receive their donation though? The choices were many. As the Beard family evaluated several charities, they were passionate about making sure that their donation would continue to have an impact long after Christmas. They also wanted to focus on a charity that receives relatively less attention during the holiday bell-ringing season. And so, with this agreed criteria, Gwen suggested Global Playground, and the rest of the Beard family wholeheartedly agreed.

With Global Playground selected, the new Christmas tradition was set into motion. Gwen, a grade school teacher, took information she received from Global Playground and created booklets for her family to learn about the communities they would be touching. The nine family members then arrived on Christmas day with just one present to place under the tree, an envelope in hand containing their donation, and a less stressed disposition due to a shorter shopping list. Each family member handed their envelope over to Gwen's mother who tallied the donations. This was the moment for which Gwen had been waiting. "I was so excited I couldn't stand it. I couldn't wait to see what we had done," she recalled. "I hoped it was a lot of money that would make a difference that would go on and on."

As a family with little travel experience in the developing world, the new tradition sparked both enthusiasm and interest. Gwen and Jeff, Gwen's son, expressed remarkable enthusiasm toward Global Playground and are hopeful that at some point they will be able to see firsthand the communities their family is helping. The new tradition also resulted in friends, other family members, and students becoming interested in Global Playground and its projects in Uganda and Cambodia. Jeff noted, "While we didn't toot our own horns, our friends were very intrigued and excited." Gwen's students also became intrigued when Gwen explained during a unit on Africa that her family's new Christmas tradition would give more than three hundred children in Uganda the opportunity to attend school for the first time.

To date, this was the best Christmas ever, according to Gwen. The Beard family agrees that they should repeat it again next year . . . perhaps with a new twist!

-Kerry Loughran

If you have undertaken a novel fundraising effort for Global Playground, we would love to hear about it. Feel free to call us at 1-800-998-9348 or write us at info@theglobalplayground.org.