The second inclusive park of Ecuador will be in Huarcay

Ecuadornews:

The president of the Plan All Life Committee, Rocío de Moreno, participated in a community meeting with the residents of the sector, located in the south of Quito.

Angie Coox, 16, longs for a playground where her wheelchair is not an impediment to play with the rest of children and youth who live in Huarcay; one of the housing projects of the Whole Life Plan mission, in the south of Quito.

At a community meeting, which took place on July 17, she and children with disabilities, seniors and neighbors, drew up on paper a sketch with the design of the inclusive children’s park of their dreams. Rocío de Moreno, president of the Whole Life Plan Committee participated in the activity; Tiffany Harris, co-founder and director of the Shane’s Inspiration Foundation; and several ministers of state.

The meeting sought to empower housing beneficiaries to participate in the planning process of inclusive citizen spaces, so that children with and without disabilities can enjoy as part of the community building program promoted by the Technical Secretariat of the Whole Life Plan. “A true inclusion will be achieved through a work of society, where children, adults, parents and teachers are immersed,” said Rocío de Moreno.

By groups, the residents of Huarcay made proposals to be included in the design of the inclusive park, the second to be built in the country and which will be accompanied and advised by the Shane’s Inspiration Foundation based in Los Angeles, United States.

In 2013, this organization, which developed 72 inclusive parks worldwide, advised on the conceptualization and implementation of the first park with these characteristics that was built in Cuenca and that has learning stations and more than 50 interactive games to facilitate the integration of little ones.

It has musical panels for auditory stimulation, collective swings, sliders, sports and recreational spaces, 3 kilometers of bike paths and walking routes, bio-healthy games, gardens with aromatic plants and other things.

In the meeting, Harris met the proposals of the residents of Huarcay to create the playground, which will be fed back with those of his team in Los Angeles, to make the final conceptual design of the recreation site.

“Shane’s Inspiration arose from the need for inclusive parks in the world, we believe that this initiative will complement the work that the Whole Life Plan does for people with disabilities,” he said.

Benefits in education

In addition to playgrounds, this international organization developed a methodology of social inclusion education Together and We Are Able that benefits 40,000 students in more than 150 schools around the world.

This type of education was socialized together with the Deputy Minister of Education, Álvaro Sáenz, to be replicated in the country. The work in the educational centers starts with the children from 9 to 12 years old and continues with the young people up to 18.

“The age in which we start with the little ones is ideal, because they do not have any kind of prejudice that prevents sharing with their children, colleagues in wheelchairs or with some other type of disability, “Harris said.

Rocío de Moreno believes that this work can combat bullying in schools. “Children must learn to live with their partners with disabilities and those who may be different, either by their ethnicity or their social status, this would eliminate all forms of violence,” she said.

60% of infants with disabilities are more likely to suffer bullying, Harris said. Therefore, its foundation develops educational programs in which children live with their peers, some students sponsor their friends with disabilities and then tell their experiences. (I)

Source: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/sociedad/6/segundo-parque-inclusivo-huarcay-ecuador