OTHER PROGRAMS – Playground for Castara and Scarborough, Tobago

Tobago Playgrounds
Three playgrounds in 2 1/2 weeks!

In January of 2010, a joint team of representatives from the Mary A. Tidlund Charitable Foundation and Emmanuel Foundation headed down to Tobago to install playgrounds in the communities of Scarborough, Castara and L’anse Fourmi.

The playgrounds were used playgrounds from the City of Calgary and were shipped via container through the generous donation of AMJ Campbell International.

The lasting legacy is the addition of bright red, yellow, green and blue play structures to the landscape, symbolizing community – the joy of connecting by coming together to work and play.

Those benefiting from the playgrounds in the following communities:
Scarborough – 600 children in school
Castara – 100 children in school and approximately 1000 per month due to access to the facility from the adjacent beach
L’anse Fourmi – 40 children in school; 100 children in the surrounding community

Play it forward
krista sylvester
16 September 2009 05:10

For two Alberta charitable foundations, children’s playgrounds are more than just child’s play — to a child across the world it can bring a smile to their sad faces.

That's why volunteers with the Emmanuel Foundation (EF) and the Mary A. Tidlund Foundation are working with the City of Calgary to recycle old and used playgrounds from the city and bring them to children in other countries who haven’t even seen one before.

"When you see their faces light up and three or four hundred kids jumping on the playground — it’s amazing, there is nothing like it," EF executive director Lyle Johnson said as he loaded a truck destined for Tobago.

Johnson helps bring old playgrounds worth $30,000 to $50,000 to developing countries like Trinidad and Kenya, but says the City of Calgary is a huge factor.

"Otherwise they would just go to waste so we thought this was a great idea. We have really hit a home run, it’s been very successful."

Metro Calgary


Members and Volunteers from the Mary A Tidlund Charitable Foundation and Emmanuel Foundation help gather playground pieces recycled from the City of Calgary, to be shipped to Third World countries as part of the International Playground Project. Prior to loading the equipment into the container, playgrounds are sorted and repaired.
Making everything fit perfectly into the container can be tricky! With everything loaded, the container will be shipped by the generous donation of AMJ Campbell International to Tobago.
Playground Volunteers: crouching Doug Beatty, Al Brown, Ancle George, David Brown, Anita Brown, Junior Kennedy, Ted Lefebvre, Gail Lefebvre, Dan Beatty, Cara Lefebvre, Lyle and Addi Johnson Happy children on the Castara Playground.