Grand Anse Praslin receives new and improved playground |12 February 2020

The children enjoying the new toys soon after the official handover ceremony (Photo: Nadia Bedier)

In what can only be described as a perfect example of public-private partnership, the children of Grand Anse Praslin welcomed the opening of their brand new and improved playground on Friday.

The revamped playground is a donation from the Surya Aqua Industries and an initiative facilitated by Praslinois businessman Luc Grandcourt and the department of local government.

Surya Aqua manufactures the Eden Spring mineral water, which is bottled in the Grand Anse Praslin district.

While Surya Aqua procured the toys from China at a cost of around US $14,000 – 15,000 , Mr Grandcourt provided free transportation of the toys from Mahé to Praslin and the department of local government covered the VAT costs during the customs process.

Present at the ceremony on Friday were member of the National Assembly (MNA) for Grand Anse Praslin Wavel Woodcock, principal secretary for local government Marie-Celine Vidot-Jeannevole, managing director of Surya Aqua Sanjay Naidoo, special advisor to the Designated Minister Miera Savy, district administrator (DA) for Grand Anse Praslin Moses Barbe along with a large number of children and parents from the district.

The first children’s playground at Grand Anse Praslin was officially opened by former President France Albert Rene in 1989 and was located just behind the district’s old police station

In 1992 – after the construction of the district administration – the decision was taken to relocate the children’s playground next to the DA’S office, mainly due to space and continuous vandalism.

However, even as regular maintenance works were undertaken on the playground’s steel-fixed toys, in the long run they were affected by corrosion and became a hazard for play.

Now, the playground boasts of colourful and safe see-saws, swing sets, slides, spring riders, play tubes, climbers and spinning seats – all of which were welcomed enthusiastically by the children.

It was Mr Naidoo who officially handed over the new playground to the district administration, department of local government and the children of Grand Anse Praslin, represented by young Audrica Philoe and Jeremiah Athanase.

“This project has been one which I and the DA have been considering for a long while. It was one of our priority projects for the district and today we see the result which residents of Grand Anse Praslin, especially the children, really appreciate,” MNA Woodcock explained.

“Today I am really happy for the Grand Anse Praslin community and for its children because this was something that the residents were wishing for. This is why I was pushing for this project to become a reality,” Mr Woodcock noted.

He also requested for the residents to make good use of the toys.

On his part, Mr Naidoo explained that he chose to support this particular endeavour because the old playground was in a state of neglect and hence children were not coming to play there.

“We decided it was time for an upgrade to make the playground on the same level as other playgrounds you will see on Mahé.”

Since it was Surya Aqua which procured the toys straight from the Chinese manufacturer, a memorandum of understanding was signed by Mr Naidoo and Mr Barbe which would allow Surya Aqua to procure the source parts from the Chinese firm for maintenance.

“In the end, it [the maintenance] will be a collaborative effort. We will try to maintain it for the first year and then afterwards the district will take control of this,” Mr Naidoo noted.

The MoU also acknowledged the donation and the contribution of each of the parties in this public-private partnership.

“The toys are nice and I hope the children use them well,” 11-year-old Chaw-Yelle Hoareau said while giving her reaction to the new playground.

Dora Onezime, a young parent, added: “We couldn’t use the playground at all before because the toys were made of steel which had rusted and we were scared to bring them here in case they got cut.”

“I really appreciate this donation. We have been waiting for a long time for our children to have a place to play; they were only able to have a real playground experience whenever we travelled to Mahé. We can now come here and relax with them on a weekend afternoon.”

The district’s DA thanked everyone, particularly Mr Naidoo, for their contribution to the district and, as a bonus on the occasion, announced the upcoming opening of the district’s new daycare, another priority project for Grand Anse Praslin.

Elsie Pointe