Nimba, Bong, and Bassa Liberia: – Following huge turnout at its playgrounds, global steel giant- ArcelorMittal-Liberia is building three new playgrounds in its host communities.
The playparks already designed by local Liberian contractors will be erected in Camp#4-Nimba County, Zoweinta in Bong, and the railway community of St. John-Frank Diggs Town in Grand Bassa respectively.
Community engagement for the selection of suitable sites in the host communities is ongoing this week and is expected to conclude this Saturday.
When the sites are designated by the communities, there will be groundbreaking ceremonies in each location before engineers can move in for site clearing and landscaping.
The parks are expected to include “landscaping, constructing, and installing of equipment like swings, seesaws, slides, monkey bar, jungle gym, and other equipment”.
In December 2022, the company completed and dedicated a modern children’s playground in its Buchanan concession area.
ArcelorMittal-Liberia (AML) also built and dedicated another playground in the mining town of Yekepa, in Nimba County.
Since then, there has been massive influx of children at two playgrounds initially constructed by AML in Nimba and Grand Bassa County.
ArcelorMittal-Liberia recognizes that recreational activities are a key part of the development of children and is now on the drive to construct additional playgrounds in its three host communities in Nimba, Grand Bassa and Bong Counties.
Camp 4, Nimba County, Zoweinta Bong and Frank Diggs Town Bassa are some of the communities most affected by ArcelorMittal’s mining and logistics operations.
They are all located close to the railway which is primarily used to transport ore from Yekepa to the Port of Buchanan.
This will be the first-time hundreds of children in these off-city communities will benefit from such playground facilities to help set out for adventures in the open air and make childhood memories forever cherished.
This new AML intervention is highly commendable because evidently, in many parts of today’s Liberia, children are overwhelmed with an abundance of activities and fewer opportunities to enjoy outside play.
Social media, TV shows Video games, after-school activities, and their academics demands are leading to disappearing playgrounds and playtime, especially that since the end of war many families are focused on acquisition of plots of land to build homes.
Since the end of war, playgrounds have been increasingly disappearing and replaced by houses, an early childhood development defect ArcelorMittal seeks to help correct.
These activities are under ArcelorMittal-Liberia Phase-II Expansion program name and style: ‘’Safeguarding our Communities’’.
