By Michael Liswaniso OPUWO In an effort to ensure that children admitted to the Opuwo State Hospital are happy as patients and have ample time to relax and play around, the Opuwo State Hospital last Thursday officially inaugurated a mini-playground. The playground was built in three days by a small group of seven volunteers from the town. What makes the playground unique is that it was built from funds that were donated to the hospital by Cathy Paine and her friends who visited the hospital in the past and realized the need for a playground at the hospital. Paine came to the hospital when she paid a visit to one of her friends, Anita Pearson, who works as a social worker on a voluntary basis at the state hospital. The playground cost N$1 600 that Paine and her friends availed for the project. Speaking at the occasion, the matron of Opuwo State Hospital, Katarina Tjiveze, commended Pearson for having received the donation on behalf of the hospital. She also thanked Paine and friends for their generosity. “This is very special. I give thanks to all role-players who built this playground.” Tjiveze said that not only is the playground for pleasure to children but it also forms a developmental component of the hospital itself that will make young patients’ stay at the hospital a joyful one. “I know that if children have a place for fun, then it will give them happiness and then they will recover very fast from their sicknesses more quickly than if they are sad and bored in poor conditions,” she noted. She stated that she hopes the playground will be utilised fully by all children housed in the wards. “I just hope that this playground brings happiness so that in spite of illness it will make the stay of all sick children at this hospital a pleasurable one.” At the same occasion, the seven volunteers who built the playground were presented with small gifts in the form of winter jackets each as a token of appreciation for their hard work.