Illinois group builds new playground at Oglala

By Mary Garrigan, Journal Staff Writer | Monday, July 18, 2005

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The village of Oglala on the Pine Ridge reservation doesn't have a city park or a neighborhood schoolyard, but it does have a bumper crop of young kids who need a playground, which makes it a perfect place for a Kids Around the World project.

Kids Around the World is a Rockford, Ill.-based nonprofit group that builds playgrounds in needy places worldwide. In 10 years, it has built 44 playgrounds in 17 different countries from Vietnam to Venezuela. Last week, 26 volunteers built the group's 45th playground in Oglala, said Allan Cooper, executive vice president for Kids Around the World, who has managed projects, well, all around the world.

"We build playgrounds in places where they've never seen a playground before," Cooper said. "Our motto is to try to put as many smiles on as many kids' faces as we can."

Volunteer Ron Benton of Wichita, Kan., helped build the Oglala playground in three days, from July 7-9. Despite working in 100-degree heat, Benton said the playground projects always put a smile on his face.

"The children," Benton said when asked why he volunteers for Kids Around the World. "When you see the expressions of joy on the children's faces when they use these playgrounds, that's what this is all about. It's people helping kids."

Benton, a semi-retired network marketing executive, came to the Pine Ridge reservation with his church group and his 13-year-old grandson, Joshua Benton.

While Joshua was helping dig holes for the playground equipment, a younger audience gathered each day to watch the volunteers create a playground that Cooper hopes will become a community gathering spot.

"It's pretty weird to think about kids not even having a playground in their whole town," Josh said. "I guess I kind of took for granted that every kid has a place to play. I'm really glad I came. This is cool."

Cooper estimates between 40 and 60 children live within walking distance of the playground and might use the equipment on a daily basis. "There's no playground equipment out here at all," Cooper said of Oglala, a small community about 50 miles southeast of Hot Springs that consists mostly of mobile and modular homes.

The new $25,000 playground covers an area about 80 feet by 70 feet and is located near a housing division about one mile south of the Oglala post office. It features a main climbing area with a rock wall, two slides, a whirl, or merry-go-round, six swings, two spring pods and numerous other features.

Contact Mary Garrigan at 394-8410 or mary.garrigan@rapidcityjournal.com