For the past few months, I’ve been working on the Permet Playground Project, a USAID-funded initiative to create a safe place to play in a local neighborhood. My wonderful counterparts at Bashkia Permet and I created the project proposal, held community meetings, and built the new playground, celebrating our achievement at an opening event on March 10!
Spring has finally arrived! The season marks my one-year anniversary in the Peace Corps, and it’s also been a period of change and transition.
For the past several months, I’ve been working on the Permet Playground Project with my counterparts at Bashkia Permet (Permet Municipality). The story of the new playground truly starts back in July. As I was preparing for the Peace Corps’ Project Design and Management (PDM) seminar, the Urbanistika office brainstormed ideas for the training.
The more we thought about it, the more sense a new playground seemed to make.
A few suggestions were thrown around. Should we try and renovate the local library? Too expensive. Should we put up new community bulletin boards around the city? We’re thinking too small. Should we add tourism infrastructure to the City Stone? Not enough community focus.
Paskal, the Urbanistika director and main engineer, had worked with previous Peace Corps volunteers on small grant applications in the past and knew the ideal scope of a successful project, so he was the one to suggest the winning idea: A new playground.
The more we thought about it, the more sense the idea seemed to make. It was definitely doable even with our limited budget, and it was a well-known community need. So we got to work.
The Application
- Community and Organizational Development (COD) volunteers with their counterparts at PDM training
I’d taken a grant writing class in college, but I’d never actually applied for funding in real life before. Still I was confident in my writing skills and my ability to follow instructions, and as I learned that’s all you really need to write a successful grant.
My counterpart, Elvi, and I brought the idea to our PDM training, and when we came back to Permet, we recruited another counterpart at the bashkia to help us. Klaudja, a project specialist working in the mayor’s office, was happy to jump in on the project, and so the three of us – architect, project specialist, and Peace Corps volunteer – became an efficient and functional team.
The three of us – architect, project specialist, and volunteer – became a team.
We decided to apply for a SPA (Small Project Assistance) grant through the Peace Corps. SPA grants are funded through USAID, but local committees at each post determine whether projects are approved or denied.
Our first step was figuring out where the new playground should be located. When we began the project, there were no playgrounds at all in the city of Permet. Years ago, there had been equipment in the center of town, but when that area was revitalized, the playground was torn out and never replaced. The plans for the new river walk included a play area for children, so we ruled out the city center and were left with two choices: the Mejden neighborhood in the north or Lagjia e Re (New Neighborhood) in the south.
The mayor made the final call. Groups of children had been coming into his office asking for a new place to play in the Mejden neighborhood, and so the Mejden neighborhood it was! But truly either location would have been a prime spot – they both have lots of children and many families in tough economic situations.
The whole process took about a month to complete.
With that major decision out of the way, Klaudja and I got to work surveying the Mejden community, and Elvi created a design for the playground and got quotes for equipment and construction costs. When we brought all of our materials together, we were able to write a compelling narrative and realistic plan for implementation. The whole process took about a month to complete between our various schedules, so I had plenty of downtime (and fell into a bit of a slump).
The last step in our application was a Skype interview with the SPA committee. The power flickered on and off ominously throughout the morning, but luckily we had electricity when we most needed it. The interview went smoothly with just a few follow-up details, and a few weeks later, we learned that our application had been approved!
The Real Work Begins
Once we’d been awarded the money, it took a long time to process the paperwork, set up a bank account, and get the ball actually rolling. Between my November vacation and the busy holidays, we didn’t start implementation in earnest until the new year. But once we began, everything happened all at once.
Once we began, everything happened all at once.
Klaudja and I held community meetings to educate the local residents about taking care of their new space and environmental protection. We also spoke with the cleaning staff in charge of the area and began to plan the opening event.
Meanwhile, Elvi was doing the heavy lifting (sometimes literally). He arranged all of the logistics of the playground – purchasing the equipment, getting it from Tirana to Permet, installing it in Mejden, and making sure that it got repaired when over-enthusiastic children got a little too rough.
Within the span of three months, the new playground was completed! I could hardly believe it – and neither could many of the Peace Corps staff.
“When I got your invitation to come to the opening event, I was shocked,” one of the staff members told me later. “I thought it would take a year to complete.”
Truly, no one was more surprised than me. But I shouldn’t have been. Both Elvi and Klaudja had proven to me time and time again that they’re hardworking professionals who know how to get the job done. The residents in the Mejden neighborhood were enthusiastic and supportive from the get-go, and the entire bashkia was on our side. The capacity and know-how was always here in Permet. What the community lacked was an English-speaker and the international funds – in other words, the spark.
Celebrating a Job Well Done
To officially open the playground to the public, we held an opening event on March 10th. Of course, I couldn’t help but write about my experience, so without further ado, here’s my optimistic ramblings and observations from one of my favorite days in the Peace Corps:
Saturday, March 10, 2018, 3:38pm
Wow, what a day. I just want to take a minute and soak it all in – the happiness, the excitement, and the warmth of the bright sunshine. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a thousand times again, I’m so incredibly lucky to be here in Albania and even more so to be here in Permet.
The sounds of laughter echoed into the open air, and I took a seat just soaking in the happy atmosphere.
I began my morning filled with so much anticipation that I couldn’t bear to lay around in bed past 7:30am. While I knew that everything would work out one way or another, I just wanted to be up and moving and feeling like I was getting things accomplished.
When I arrived in Mejden, the sun was shining, the sky was bright blue with hardly a stray cloud, and dozens of children were already out and about enjoying the warm weather. The sounds of their laughter echoed off the sides of the buildings into the open air, and I took a seat on a bench just soaking in the happy atmosphere.
I had at least five minutes all to myself before Klaudja arrived, and as I sat at the edge of the playground, I was completely content. What more could I ask from life than a beautiful day and a successful project? I looked around the playground and couldn’t help but smile as I watched the children double up on the teeter-totter and some of the older girls fly higher and higher on the swings – all while remembering how my sisters and I used to play at my grandparent’s house.
Every minute that children are able to enjoy the space is valuable, even if the playground doesn’t last forever.
I also noticed the signs of wear and tear that had prematurely aged much of the equipment. The playground was only three weeks old and had already been repaired three times, and as I watched the swing set bend ominously and the teeter-totter slam into the hard ground, I winced internally and imagined the equipment a year from now completely worn down and broken.
A playground isn’t the most sustainable project in the world, but every minute that children are able to enjoy the space and play outdoors is valuable, even if the playground itself doesn’t last forever.
Klaudja arrived around 10:35am, and throughout the event, I was grateful for her levelheadedness and professionalism. We greeted the cleaning staff, who helped us pick out a spot for flower planting, then we went to buy cookies and find a table for the event. Once we had everything arranged, all we had left to do was wait for the speakers, flowers, and photographer to arrive.
When Koli made it to the the venue and started up the speakers, he asked me, “Are you nervous? Because you’re always nervous before an activity.”
But strangely, I wasn’t nervous or stressed at all. Instead I was brimming with excitement and happiness to see the results of my work coming to fruition. To be honest, this project has felt incredibly easy because I’ve had Klaudja and Elvi here every step of the way.
Elvi was the one who arranged all of the logistics of the playground installation. Klaudja was the one who ran all of the community meetings, explained the surveys, and arranged most of the details for the final event. I was there to field questions and help write the grant in the first place.
But with that said, every minute that I’ve spent building relationships in and out of the bashkia, learning about the community’s needs, and even practicing the language has all culminated in today’s activity and the completion of a successful SPA grant. I’ll continue to work hard and use this experience as a stepping stone to other projects in the future.
With the most important pieces in place – the children and their parents – everything began to come together.
Anyway, with the speakers set up, the playground was filled with bright, happy music that livened up the atmosphere and even got some of the children singing. We had at least thirty children and twenty adults in the playground area, and one of the bashkia policemen told me that this was a normal amount of traffic for the new space. While the younger children played on the equipment, a group of older students played volleyball in a circle off to the side of the playground, adults rested on benches, and Klaudja began planting flowers.
With the most important pieces in place – the children and their parents – everything began to come together. I met my country director, Kate, in the street just outside of the playground, and her face lit up as she rounded the corner and saw the brightly colored equipment and happy children.
Around that time, my friends Barbara and Tim made their way to the new playground. I was grateful to have their support, and it meant a lot to me that they would take time out of their days to attend.
Finally, the bashkia photographer arrived and began taking dozens of photos, and so the last piece of the puzzle was my supervisor, Eva, who came to the park with her daughter. Then we got the show on the road.
Koli turned down the music, and I was actually the first one to speak.
Koli turned down the music, and I was actually the first one to speak. I didn’t prepare anything beforehand, but with as much confidence as I could muster, I said (completely in Albanian), “Hello, everyone. I’m Lori, the Peace Corps volunteer that lives here in Permet. I want to thank the workers at the bashkia, and Elvi and Klaudja. I also want to thank the director of the Peace Corps and the volunteers that came today. And I want to thank all of you. I love Permet and I’m so lucky to live here. Thank you.”
Afterwords, Eva said a few words about how lovely the project was and how she’d never seen this many people gathered together in Mejden. Then Mishella, a young student from the neighborhood, recited a poem. Finally, Klaudja explained the importance of exercise in very simple language and invited all the children to grab a cookie.
Once we’d all finished speaking, Kate came around and congratulated us all again, and I couldn’t help but beam with pride at the hard work and dedication of my wonderful colleagues. The event had lasted about an hour, but I had a feeling that the park would be bustling with happy children well into the afternoon.
It’s been a truly wonderful day and one that I hope I won’t forget for a long time.
With all the flowers planted, the speakers put away, the table returned to the kind store owner who had lent it to us, the flyers distributed, and all the cookies eaten, we all headed into the city center for a congratulatory coffee.
It’s been a truly wonderful day and one that I hope I won’t forget for a long time. As I reflect now on my experiences, the overwhelming emotion that I’m feeling is gratitude. I couldn’t have done any of this without the wonderful people I’ve gotten to know and respect here in Permet, and I’m thankful every day that they’ve found a place for me in their work and in their lives.
I’m also proud of myself for how far I’ve come as a volunteer. I’ve been opening myself up to new and challenging experiences for the past year, and all of my efforts are paying off in strong relationships, advanced language skills, and successful projects.
This playground marks the halfway point in my service. Tim told me today that he’s envious of where I am as a volunteer because the next few months will be filled with activities and projects as things really begin to click. And I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to build on my experiences and create more positive memories here in my final year in Permet.
My big takeaways are:
- Work on projects the community is already passionate about
- Build a good team with counterparts you really trust
BONUS: Check out my many other pictures from the playground – from its planning stages to its opening event!
Uprooted Abroad 