"Safe Park" for Children

Power of Love’s “Safe Park” program provides a safe and fun environment for children living in slum neighborhoods to play, learn, and interact with peers. More than 700 children are enrolled and benefit on a regular basis. The children enjoy playing Zambian games and learning through workshops led by older children and health educators. In addition, for the past six months, older children have been accessing the internet and learning basic computer skills at our computer lab located close to their homes. Children are eager to learn and come to the lab after school hours. Some of the skills the children are learning include Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Internet Skills (Navigation) and file management. Most learners can create email accounts and send each other emails.

In addition to creation of skills, time at the lab discourages adolescent children to engage in undesirable activities such as trying alcohol/drugs and/or getting in trouble after school hours.

One of our continuing challenges is frequent power cuts. To ensure that the children continue to learn, the lab supervisor switches to verbal lessons at that time. 

The lab has been well received by the community as evidenced by the demand of people wanting to enroll.  As with the Safe Park program, this lab has become a community asset. 

Thank you for giving the gift of health and education to children. 

We are excited to share that we have added a mental health program for adults to our current suite of programs. This initiative is a response to a growing need for mental health services. Mental health services are especially vital in underserved communities, where economic hardship, overcrowding, and lack of basic resources create unique stressors. Women, often bear the heaviest burden. 

Our team has been trained by the country’s only mental health hospital. The addition of these services will be a wonderful complement to the counseling we provide to children as a part of Safe Park program activities. Currently, our focus areas include depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, schizophrenia, and substance use disorders.

Thank you! Your support makes this work possible.

Links:

• About "Safe Park" for Children to Play and Learn
• Impact of "Safe Park"
• Safe Park: An invaluable resource for the community