Sunday, June 4, 2017

MAGUDE'S FAMILY PARK

As I finish up my Peace Corps 2nd year assignments, and am in my last weeks of service, the most fulfilling project is also concluding. The Magude Family Park! From start to finish, it has taken approximately 11 months, overcame a few barriers, and has resulted in what community buy- in is all about.  The personal commitment of the people who shared making this possible was an important key element.


A quick overview of the background in doing this park:
A workshop by Peace Corps on extra funding that could be available for projects.  This was attended by the volunteer and a counterpart from the community.  This time emphasized how important the maintenance of a project is after the volunteer leaves, therefore unceasing investment.
Here we formed a Design Team, introduced the idea of rehabilitating the dilapidated Children’s park built 100 years ago by the Portuguese in the center of the village.  The idea grew into converting it to family park, where there would be facilities for educational workshops on proactive health practices (there was also no place that the whole family can go past time together).  We then divided into sections and wrote a $5,000 grant to Peace Corps.
Now we are in December- six long months later; we received the money, interviewed contractors, and fine tuned the blueprint. Just as we were about to sign contracts, I get called to immediately appear at the village’s administration office and speak to the Honorable Mayor (that is quite a formal event here). A bit curious I walk over to be told that the village has other plans for the park area.  The mayor who is very smart, didn’t even pause to get me to start to protest nor whine, and tells me that they re allotting the project a virgin area right next to the old park. Months later I learned that the Director of the Infrastructure Department, who I had been meeting with for months, went and proposed the idea all by himself.  If it wasn’t for Alfredo Joao, this project would have been closed.
Now all seems good, but there is a difference in rehabilitating and started from scratch, we now had figure out how the money was going to build a new park; something to attract the mothers, fathers, and children, and meet the standards of the grant.  Challenge starts, time is moving, the exchange rate is decreasing, and inflation is causing construction material to increase daily.  The solution came from finding two new contractors, Elias and Velasco, whom are village natives.  They agreed to do what was needed to result in a family park.  Their personal dedication, pride, and honor to the community resulted in a place that is actually more beautiful then what we hoped for.
Magude Family Park had its grand opening on June 1st, 2017, on Magude Day and International Day of the Child.

The Hospital Director calls it “a dream that came true”. Congratulations Magude!



































1 comment:

  1. I love he earring about how this park came to be!!!

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