Worrying, determined but full of difficulties
"Currently, the commune does not have any playgrounds for children. This is something that makes the government and people worry every summer. Although there have not been serious accidents, the risk is always present - simple dreams such as swings, slides, climbing frames, mini soccer... are still just unfulfilled promises. In the eyes of children in Tan Ninh, playgrounds are not only a place for exercise, but a space to nurture collective spirit, connect the community - things that cannot be learned through phone screens or in four walls.
Vice Chairman of Quang Ninh District People's Committee - Mr. Le Ngoc Huan - said that the district has identified investment in summer entertainment opportunities as an important task in the strategy of caring for the younger generation.
"We direct communes to develop plans from local budgets and call for socialization. However, due to limited funding conditions, the investment scale has not been as expected, said Mr. Huan.
Aiming for fundamental solutions, the district aims to have at least one concentrated playground for each commune, suitable for the characteristics of the population. These projects will combine games, sports, community activities and be assigned to organizations and parents for coordination in operation.
In Quang Tri, although the Action Month for Children was launched on May 30, the issue of public playgrounds is still a long-standing weakness. Mr. Do Van Hung - Director of the provincial Department of Health - emphasized: "Caring for children is always a measure of sustainable and humane development". However, he also admitted: The system of public playgrounds in mountainous areas is still seriously lacking. Children in remote areas face many barriers in accessing culture, entertainment and life skills".
Mr. Nguyen The Hung - Director of the Children's House of Quang Tri province - shared: "We want to open a classroom in Huong Hoa, Dakrong, but lack facilities and human resources to implement. Therefore, drawing, playing, dancing classes or personal defense skills... are still a luxury for children in mountainous areas".
According to Mr. Bui Dinh Long - Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee, the province is currently still preserving, maintaining and effectively exploiting many public entertainment, recreation and sports spaces serving people such as Ho Chi Minh Square, Nguyen Tat Thanh Park, parks on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, along with stadiums, parks, cultural houses, public spaces in districts, towns, cities, wards and communes.
In addition to the public system, many businesses have proactively invested in high-quality sports centers and entertainment areas to meet the increasingly diverse needs of people, especially in urban development areas.
The province is determined not to accept the use of public land for the wrong purpose, especially for spaces for children and teenagers. Violations will be strictly handled. At the same time, the province requires localities to create conditions for children to have a safe and healthy space to play and practice...
Children's playgrounds should be a new rural criterion
In Ha Tinh, many commune leaders admitted to being stuck due to "mschedule problems". For example, Tan Lam Huong and Luu Vinh Son communes, after the merger, there are a series of abandoned headquarters and cultural houses, but cannot be converted into a place for children to live because of regulations on public asset management.
"We just hope to "untie them". Can be rented out, or convert the function of unused works to be playgrounds, kindergartens, and skills centers. This is both against waste and in line with the needs of the people" - a commune chairman proposed.
In Thanh Hoa, representatives of some localities said that to build a "true" playground, there must be a mechanism to mobilize private resources and local unions. The Women's Union and the Youth Union can completely organize summer activities and operate the community playground model with on-site resources, provided there is initial support from the budget and a clear legal framework.
In particular, many opinions say that it is necessary to include the criterion of "having a public playground for children" in the set of criteria for building advanced, model new rural areas - to serve as a legal basis forcing the commune-level government to plan and arrange specific land funds.
Lawyer Pham Quang Xa (Hanoi Bar Association) said that Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (which Vietnam has ratified since 1990) clearly stipulates: Children have the right to rest, play, participate in cultural and entertainment activities appropriate for their age.
The right to play is a right - not a privilege. However, despite many efforts, the true playground for children, especially children in rural and mountainous areas, means having both facilities and being scientifically organized and methodical, there is still a large gap.
Children cannot wait until they have enough budget to play safely. The government cannot just shout and then "transform to socialization". Human development must start from the smallest things: A swings, a yard, a grassland...
