Al–Mughayyir kindergartners need a playground

My name is Cara Marianna. I am a writer and co-editor of The Floutist and Winter Wheat, two Substack newsletters that publish commentary and essays on world events, politics, and culture. I recently spent one month in Palestine interviewing people for a series of essays called Palestinian Voices. Now I am fundraising for a kindergarten playground in the West Bank.

On my recent travels I met the kindergartners of Al-Mughayyir, a farming and shepherding village northeast of Ramallah. These children, who have endured so much over the past nine months, are in desperate need of a playground.

The children are proud of their tiny two-room school, the walls of which were covered with their schoolwork and drawings. But their existing play area is too small and does not have enough play equipment. (See photo above.)

The village owns a small open plot of land next to the school for this purpose. Community members had planned to pool their resources to build the playground. Sadly, since events in October, the project was necessarily put on hold. The townsfolk are suffering economically and do not have the resources to construct the playground.

The amount I am raising will cover all expenses to develop the land, including new soil, drainage, necessary upgrades to the existing wastewater collection system, concrete work, a covered seating area, new artificial grass, and new play equipment.

As the funds are raised, the money is being deposited into a private bank account in my name set up specifically and solely for this project. As sufficient funds are collected the money will be deposited through Nonviolence International directly into an account of a partner organization working in the West Bank. NVl is a 501(c)(3) registered in Washington, DC.

NVI's partner organization has over a decade of experience with this type of project and will distribute the money to the village as needed. To date, this organization has helped with the funding and construction of three playgrounds in the West Bank. I met the director of this organization when I was in the West Bank. I am familiar with many of their projects and have full confidence in them.

I hope you will consider supporting this project. I’ll be posting periodic updates on the funding campaign and on the playground construction once it is under way. Thank you.