The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews dedicated the world’s first playground shelter in an experiment to transform mobile shelters across the country into friendly and less traumatic spaces for children.
The shelter in Hakramim Park, in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, was originally installed by IFCJ several years ago as a solution for residents and children. It stands next to a playground and several kindergartens. IFCJ collaborated with the “City Peloton” design studio that specializes in community activity areas to create a more welcoming and pleasant visual for the serious structure during times of calm, as well as during times of emergency use.
While maintaining its structural integrity and functionality, the mobile shelter has been transformed into a piece of equipment that serves as a direct link to the adjacent playground. Designed to look like a playhouse with a sloped roof, the outside now includes a ladder and slide. The project was carried out in cooperation with the municipality of Sderot.
Safwan Marich, manager of security and emergency programs at the IFCJ, said that “we are happy to have the opportunity to transform our protective spaces into friendly areas for the children. We continue to stand with Israel and work, in coordination with the Home Front Command of the Israel Defense Forces, to close the gaps that exist in protection wherever we can and whenever it’s needed.”
The IFCJ has installed hundreds of mobile shelters in public areas throughout Israel in the past few years, the majority along tense border communities in the north and south. During Israel’s 12-day war with Iran, dozens of shelters were installed, including in the center of the country, to address the immediate needs of protecting Israel’s citizens from incoming missile fire.
In the coming weeks, the IFCJ plans to install roughly 100 additional mobile shelters across the country in coordination with the Home Front Command. This NIS 6.5 million project ($1.9 million) is working on minimizing the gaps in protection in Israel’s public spaces.
