The ability to play and enjoy childhood isn’t an opportunity that all children have the chance to experience.
However, one woman has taken a stand by asserting that all children have a right to play in a safe and nurturing environment. She found a creative way to not only provide kids with more playgrounds, but also recycle old tires to make them.
Pooja Rai has built hundreds of playgrounds out of tires.
Located in Bengaluru, India, Rai decided to work on transforming the 100 million tires that go to waste every year into play spaces that will hopefully last lifetimes.
According to Christian Science Monitor , she founded Anthill Creations and has since built nearly 300 playgrounds almost entirely out ofdiscarded tires.
Rai is always looking for way to refine her creations.
Tires are collected and then carefully examined for any potentially dangers that may harm children. They are then cleaned, painted and even punctured with holes to prevent any water or liquids from getting trapped inside.
Rai uses them to build jungle gyms, slides, swings and more. She aims to continually improve the quality of her products.
Each playground is built according to the community’s needs.
Rai is very mindful to remember that not all communities have the same needs or interests.
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She makes sure to reach out to the people living in the area around any potential new playgrounds to find out what would benefit them the most. Her teams asks both adults and children what they’d like to see the play spaces incorporate.
Most of Anthill Creations’ funding comes from donations.
With even a small playground costing around $800 to build, paying for hundreds of playgrounds of various sizes and locations can get expensive fast.
All of the 800 playground builders have been volunteers who build the spaces in parks, schools and other locations. Rai is passionate about teaching children about recycling while always providing a great day to play.
Let us know what you think of Anthill Creations and if Raj’s mission inspires you.
