SMILES FOR FREE MYDO’S PLAYGROUND

Abstract

This project was created in collaboration with the Melusi Youth Development Organisation in Melusi, an informal settlement located in Pretoria. MYDO was formed in 2015 and since then provides the youth of Melusi with educational support and access to the working market, as the inhabitants in Melusi struggle with an unequal access to both. Hlakudi, the founder, wanted to make sure that the huge potential, the youth in the settlement provides, does not go to waste. Our intervention is the addition of a playground to the Youth Center. The space behind the main building showed a lot of promise and was already used for playing, but was not being used to its full potential. Our playground aims to enhance the childrens creativity, while also providing the youth and the staff with a high quality seating and learning area. The structure ties together newly added parts made from scrap materials and already existing structures, which were fixed and improved.