New safe play zone for kids of the Ark
Jessica Fourie became involved with the Cradle Ark in Tarlton when she was doing an AfriForum Krugersdorp Youth project as a way to show her leadership qualities. She recently put up a large donated jungle gym for the children.
Now more than ever, with so many people having fallen on hard times amid the pandemic, it’s of great importance to ensure the well-being of the youngest among us.
Children want to play, go to school and have enough to eat, but these basic needs of many children in the West Rand area are not met.
At the Cradle Ark in Tarlton, about 180 children live in tough conditions. They play in the dirt road and struggle through tall grass on a makeshift soccer field to kick a scuffed-up ball around, that is if they have a ball to play with.
Supported by the Cradle of Hope non-profit organisation, the Ark is maintained as well as it could be with limited resources, and is in dire need of assistance.
Jessica Fourie has been a member of AfriForum Krugersdorp for a few years and more recently she wanted to delve deeper into the charitable side of the organisation.
When AfriForum Krugersdorp chairperson Martin Lombard spoke to some of the young people in the group, they decided to get the AfriForum Krugersdorp Youth division back on its feet.
Instead of voting in a new youth leader, they tasked each candidate with starting and maintaining a charitable project as a way to identify true leadership qualities.
For her project, Jessica chose to erect a large jungle gym and play area for the small children at the Ark plot. She originally started the project with a children’s home in Krugersdorp, but both soon realised that the jungle gym would not be suitable for them.
“I had the Cradle of Hope in the back of my head from the start, so I contacted them,” Jessica explained. “I have a passion for kids and have two little girls of my own. The kids here don’t have what other kids have.”
Jessica felt that the addition of a clean and safe playground will go a long way in helping children cope with their difficult situation, and is a step toward upgrading the living conditions at the plot considerably.
The 30 metre wooden jungle gym was donated by the Chickadees Nursery School in Fontainebleau and was disassembled by Jessica and her team, moved to and reassembled at the Ark on Monday, 22 March.
When she visited the Ark for the first time to plan where and how the jungle gym would be set up, she was shocked at the large number of people living there and how much help the Cradle of Hope needed to sustain the residents and improve the grounds. She wishes to do much more for the Ark community, and is already planning to clean the area.
