Donated Plainfield Playground Gets Second Life In Iraq

PLAINFIELD, IL — A Plainfield Park District playground that was decommissioned last year has found new life over 6,000 miles away in a town in Iraq. The playground equipment at Kendall Ridge Park, which was removed in 2017 to make way for a new, inclusive play park, was donated to and refurbished by the non-profit organization Kids Around the World. It was re-installed this summer at St. George’s Catholic Church in Teleskuf, Iraq.

It’s the fourth such donation made to the organization since the Park District began implementing a plan to invest in upgraded playgrounds and equipment that better serve residents and their needs.

Volunteers remove the old equipment; spruce it up with new paint and hardware when needed, and also weld new ground extensions in preparation for its second life said Tim Clauson, playground director for the non-profit, which provides opportunities for kids to play in parts of the world impacted by war, poverty, disease or natural disaster.

To install the new playground, volunteers in Iraq worked in 110-degree heat during the day and learned later that as soon as the sun set each day, hundreds of children were coming out to play on the equipment even before the project was completed.

Clauson said that past playground donations from Plainfield Parks have also found new life in other places around the world. A playground from Walker’s Grove is now in Jamaica; Lakewood Falls’ old equipment is now in Uruguay; and a playground from Mayfair Park is now in Haiti.

Two other playgrounds, at Heritage Meadow and Norman Greenway, are slated to be removed and donated later this year.

“Just as it’s important to provide play opportunities for our kids’ physical, cognitive, and social development, it’s also crucial to those children living in less-fortunate circumstances,” said Plainfield Park District Executive Director Carlo Capalbo.

Main photo: The playground equipment as it now sits in Teleskuf, Iraq/Inset photo: the equipment at Kendall Ridge Park. Photos and article via Plainfield Park District