In the Israeli town of Sderot, parents cannot send their children outside to play on a beautiful day. Soccer fields are no longer home to after-school games. There is no sound of laughter or any other usual childhood noises. The streets are not filled with children riding bicycles but rather with an eerie silence.
As rockets launched from the nearby Gaza Strip continue to fall on Sderot, life is at a standstill, especially for the town’s 3,000 children, who are forced to remain indoors all day rather than risk the chance that they won’t be able to reach a bomb shelter quickly enough during a rocket attack.
To directly impact the lives of the children of Sderot and provide them with the chance to simply be kids, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) is embarking on a massive project: building the largest indoor playground in Israel.
“Sderot has been under siege for seven years,” said JNF President Stanley M. Chesley. “We can’t stop the rockets from falling but we can give these children an opportunity to escape the anxiety and fear that they are forced to live with.”
The all-inclusive Indoor Recreational Center, similar to New York City’s Chelsea Piers, will provide Sderot’s youth with a place to have fun, connect with friends, enjoy stimulating classes, and be children, beyond the conflict. It’s a place for them to feel strong and free, away from their daily helplessness and anxiety. And parents will have peace of mind knowing that their children are playing and learning in an environment that is safe.
The 21,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art indoor playground, a $5 million project, will be located in a secure industrial zone and feature recreational and exercise facilities for children ages 16 and under, including jungle gym equipment, a soccer field and volleyball court, a rock climbing wall, a snack area and gift shop, a movie and television area, a disco, swing sets, a merry-go-round and more. The facility will be under the supervision of the Israeli Army Engineers for Security Clearances and the educational arm of the IDF will provide after-school tutoring services. There will also be three therapy rooms to help children suffering from trauma.
Sderot first came under rocket fire from Palestinians in 2001, but since Israel withdrew from Gaza the number of rocket attacks has risen significantly. In recent months, rocket fire has become an almost daily event. There have been days that 50 rockets were launched from Gaza into Sderot. To date, 6,627 Kassam rockets have been fired on the Sderot area, with 11 killed and hundreds wounded.
A recent study showed that at least 75% of children ages 4-18 in Sderot suffer from post-traumatic stress, including sleep disorders and severe anxiety. They suffer nightmares, loss of appetite and problems in school. Many of them are currently undergoing long-term mental health therapy. Additionally, because the children do not play outdoors, the lack of basic activities is creating difficulties in the motor development of young children, and the lack of social activities is contributing to the at-risk factor in the teenage group.
The playground will be a destination for family entertainment, create a needed positive focus, and serve the needs of the courageous residents of this community for years to come.
To make a donation visit www.jnf.org/sderotplayground.
