Posted on: Friday, November 19, 2004

Kalihi kids help kick off safe playground project

Advertiser Staff

About a thousand children who live at Kuhio Park Terrace and Kuhio Homes will soon have something to shout about: A safe playground. Although the community's Linapuni Elementary School has a playground, it's only open during school hours.

So, for years the children have invented their own play places — in neighborhood streets and elevators, on rooftops, and even a stream that runs by the place.

Not safe, said the community. So now the Kuhio Park Terrace and Kuhio Homes Community Associations are partnering with several agencies — including Good Beginnings Alliance, Parents and Children Together, Aloha United Way, and Island Recreation — to fund and build a safe playground.

Yesterday's groundbreaking dedication for the $172,000 project, expected to be completed sometime next year, featured a number of shovel-bearing, hardhat-wearing youngsters who'll be using the playground.

According to Judith Cantil, assistant vice president of community building for AUW, the community is not only in the process of raising the funds, but a number of residents will help build the playground.

A neighborhood fund-raiser has produced $300. And the project got an major financial assist yesterday from AUW, which chipped in $8,600, and HMSA, which presented KPT with a whopping $30,000 check.