Safe Park & COVID Education

The mission of our “Safe Park” program is to create a safe environment for children in the community to learn, play and interact with peers, thereby improving their physical and mental development and well being. Program activities have had a significant impact, on the mental health of children.

Safe Park is a program that is free and open to all children in our community of Matero. This community is one of the largest and poorest compounds in Lusaka, Zambia with a population of between 175,000 to 200,000. It is characterized with a high incidence of HIV and malaria and an unemployment rate upwards of 65%. Most residents are poor and live on less than $2 per day - defined as extreme poverty by the UN.

Children in Matero face difficult circumstances due to poverty, and trauma due to loss of a parent or sibling. Our Safe Park program addresses some of the mental and physical challenges faced by children growing up in Matero. In addition, we encourage older children or children who have graduated from high school to volunteer as educators for younger children. This helps the older children learn leadership skills and the younger children see them as role models. In some ways we are growing educators and leaders.   

The direct beneficiaries of this program include about 750 children, and 70-75 participate each week.  

Safe Park activities also benefit the adults accompanying the children by educating them on the importance of keeping children in school, HIV testing, and antenatal visits for expecting moms (to prevent HIV infections in newborn babies). Expecting moms who are HIV+ are counselled on prevention of mother-to-child transmission and referred to an antenatal clinic.

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored for us the importance of a community-based program for preventing infections and disseminating knowledge about the virus. Our initiatives continue to engage residents of our communities through regular workshops and to date more than 1200 children have benefited. Our goal is to keep families informed so that they follow all protocols (hand washing, social distancing, and wearing a mask) to stay COVID free.

Children who attend Safe Parks regularly are happier and better informed about HIV prevention and care. More specifically: 

• have more knowledge about HIV, are more comfortable with their HIV positive status, and many are ready to discuss their status with their peers

• face reduced stigma associated with HIV

• a few older children become role models and mentors for the younger children

• perform better at school due to the provided homework help

• activities like reading aloud, drawing and coloring encourage early childhood learning among the younger children

• have an improvement in self-esteem and mental and physical wellbeing

• develop social skills via sharing, following rules and cooperation

• develop of better social relations with peers and adults

• learn about HIV prevention and care

• are kept off the streets where they can be abused.