Following multiple education and healthcare projects that CAUKIN worked on, in partnership with Spotlight on Africa, we returned to the Mbale region to work alongside the local community in the construction of a playground for the kids at Musoto Christian School.

At the beginning of 2023, the local government in Uganda announced the importance of dedicated play spaces for schools, especially in the primary years. From the 2024 academic year, it will be a school requirement to have such a space. Without a playground at the school, the pupils (aged 4-12) lacked a space to explore their full range of sensory and motor skills. The play structure facilitates between 50-60 students at one time.

The design was inspired by a participatory design session in which 120 students, spanning all years, contributed ideas, concepts and sketches. Some of the key themes that emerged were spaces to feel safe, spaces to work out, spaces to play board games, spaces to climb and most importantly of all- a ping pong table!

The site is divided into zones which can be adopted by students of different ages. At the front of the site with the highest visibility is where the seesaws, swings and slides are located for use by the younger kids in kindergarten and nursery. To maximise the open space surrounding the front of the site, the table tennis table and basketball court are located, intended to be used by kids of all ages. 

In addition to all of the play spaces that were discussed, the students wanted a resting place to relax on their break, so the centre of the playground features the treehouse- a covered area with a mezzanine for the students to seek shelter during Uganda’s rainy season. Adjacent to the treehouse, towards the backside of the site is the gym, where hanging bars and steps at varying heights allow for different gym exercises, performed by not only the kids, but adults too!

The design centres around two primary spine walls which run the length of the site. These walls act as an anchor for the play elements and activities, which explore the way that a wall can facilitate different types of play. This can be anything from acting as stalls for seating, creating openings for hosting a slide, being a step to climb the monkey bars or providing a base for a treehouse. All of these elements were developed from ideas that the school children provided during the design workshop 6 months prior to starting construction. 

Over the course of 6 weeks, the team on-site worked through various construction techniques from digging and pouring foundations, bricklaying locally burnt bricks and engineered bricks, mixing mortar, casting concrete slabs, installing metalwork, timber construction, digging culverts, plastering, planting and painting.

We thank Spotlight on Africa for their continued collaboration and all collaborators who provided support by way of donation, material contribution or design advice!