What is the Krasnoyarsk Playground Project ?

Alex Griffith

My name is Alex Griffith. I was born in the City of Krasnoyarsk in the Siberian Region of the Russian Federation in 1993. My parents adopted me when I was 11 months old. I am now 15 years old and am a Life Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.

I have started working toward earning the rank of Eagle Scout, scouting’s highest honor. Earning the rank of Eagle Scout requires completing an Eagle Project, a service project helpful to any religious institution, school or community.

I would like to provide service to my birth home in Krasnoyarsk, Russia and have raised money to build a playground at the orphanage where I was adopted. You can read all about this project on this website, KrasPlayground.org.

Final Thoughts

A Russian worker scratched this message into the dirt and best summarizes our thoughts on this wonderful adventure

The size and magnitude of the Krasnoyarsk Playground Project can appear overwhelming, especially when you consider the numbers:

By the numbers:

634 people who contributed time, expertise, material or money  (106 from Russia)

78     cities where help came from

23 states where help came from

5 countries where help came from

$62,856 dollars raised of which  $14,297 donated for:

-          Continued maintenance of the playground-  $5,000.00

-          Construction of a 2^nd playground at tuberculosis hospital – $5,000.00

-          Construction of a 3rd playground at hospital for mentally ill – $4,297.00

838 hours spent by Alex

1,867 known hours spent by other volunteers (actual number probably close to double)

2,705 total known hours

524  work days spent by Alex

1449 Emails written

11,065 miles totem poles traveled

6,664 miles travel crew traveled

6,584 candy bars sold by 69 individuals or companies

1,474,816 calories consumed from candy bars sold

650 lbs of pit beef sold

90 lbs of ham sold

50 lbs of turkey sold

1,200 sandwiches sold

13 different crews worked to accomplish goal (not including work in Russia)

9 presentations given by Alex to promote the project

900,000 population of Krasnoyarsk

435 children in Children’s Hospital #20

16^th birthday celebrated by Alex at in birth home

6 people who traveled to Russia

$12,000 in private money spent to travel to Russia to install the playground

41 scouts from Troop 809 who helped

32 scouters from Troop 809 who helped

5 Rotary clubs that participated

2 Rotary districts that participated

6,587 lbs – Weight of everything shipped to Russia

72 cubic meters of sand installed

6 cubic meters of concrete installed

3,004 number of playground parts that had to be assembled

54 (and counting) Newspaper, magazine or internet articles or TV stories reaching over 120 million households that received positive message of scouting, Rotary and  adoption

These numbers are only numbers. Sure, just looking at them can be staggering but there is a huge lesson in these numbers – that is that anything, no matter how big or complicated can be accomplished by developing a plan and following through in a very consistent and methodical process of tackling one task at a time, and when complete moving on to the next task and not quitting or giving up until you do reach your goal. The only way this project got done is by Alex, from age 14 to 16 giving up 838 hours of his time on 524 days to work on his project to build a playground for the children of Krasnoyarsk. That is a huge commitment and sacrifice – think of all the TV shows that were missed, video games not played, bike jumps not attempted, movies not watched, DS games not played. It was a lot and a big sacrifice for Alex and only once did he say “I want to quit”. Many, many times he did not feel like doing the work, and he had to be pushed and prodded a lot, but at the end of the day he GOT THE JOB DONE!!!! Way to go Alex!!!!

Alex worked hard and long hours, but none of this would be possible without the effort of so many other people. As the numbers show, Alex had help from 634 people around the world. Some lent advice, some helped with fundraising, some donated materials or money and many went way beyond the call of duty and contributed countless hours to the cause, most of which were unrecorded hours of their own time or services their businesses provided to Alex. While we thank all those involved special thanks must go out to these people or companies whose tireless efforts  and expertise were critical to the project’s success:

Tatiana Khegay and all the members of the Krasnoyarsk-Yenisei Rotary Club.  Tatiana replied to Alex in August 2007 saying “she would be happy to help him in realization of his kind idea”. And help him she did. For two years Tatiana was Alex’s eyes and ears on the ground in Krasnoyarsk. She coordinated everything with the hospital and city government prior to our arrival, she arranged for the storage of the playground, she marshaled the forces of her Krasnoyarsk-Yenisei rotary club members who provided housing and transportation for the travel crew, dealt with everything we needed during installation and the many changes that occurred, gave the travel crew an experience that will never be forgotten of living life as a Russian and not a tourist and most important bestowed her love and friendship on us.

Linda Perilstein of the Cradle of Hope Adoption Center. It was a Cradle of Hope waiting children flyer that Dwight and Jenny first saw Alex’s pictures – without Cradle of Hope, Alex may very well still be in an orphanage. When Alex contacted Mrs. Perilstein for help, she directed to him to FRUA and OrphanAct which led to the contact with Tatiana and it was Mrs. Perilstein who suggested a new playground instead of repairing the existing playground.

Jay Van Duesen & Mark Welsh of the Bel Air Rotary Club and Neil Young of the Towsontowne Rotary Club. Jay and Mark pushed for approval of the Bel Air Rotary being the lead sponsor club and served as a vehicle for receipt of all donations for the project. Neal provided great help in securing the matching grant from the Rotary Foundation.

David Rice of Dartrans, Inc. David spent 5 months working out the logistics of shipping the playground, totem poles and other materials to Russia and provided the services of his company at no charge. He even helped to load the container. Without David Rice, the playground would still be sitting in Jarrettsville.

Tim Herculson, Ted Cheffy and Darrell Bennett from Boy Scout Troop 809. Mr Tim was Alex’s mentor guiding him through the very long process of project approval, rejection, re-approval and execution. Mr. Ted was the 1^st to stand up at the troop committee meeting and say “I’m in” and then devoted countless hours to arrange the donation of the totem pole logs and shipping them from Canada to Jarrettsville and the fumigation of the totem poles and other wood products. Mr. Darrell whose help with the pit beef fundraisers helped to raise the money needed. In all 41 scouts and 32 scouters from Troop 809 helped, there just is not enough space to thank everyone individually.

Julie Guinn-Bailey and Jason Lott of the Playworld Systems Inc. We had to change manufacturers of the playground half way through, and Julie worked tirelessly and forever to help with design, redesign, provided discounted pricing and then held the price through two company price increases and recorded hundreds of phone calls and emails working out the project details with Alex. Jason’s expertise in installation provided the crew with critical knowledge that enabled them to get the playground installed properly and professionally with 4 teenagers and a crew of non English speaking kids half way around the world.

Randi Boni and Rick Pratt. These chainsaw artist put their heart and soul into the design and crafting of the beautiful totem pole entry benches. Randi traveled from Tennessee and Rick from New York to converge in Maryland to carve the totem poles.

Rick Edie of Kefauver Lumber. Kefauver Lumber became the USA home of the Krasnoyarsk Playground Project. Five pit beef fundraisers were held there, the totem poles were carved there and then displayed for 7 months in the store, the shipping and crating process took place there and then in April, we took over a large area of the parking lot to receive the playground and do the quality check and pre-assembly. Without Mr. Rick allowing us to use Kefauver Lumbers facilities, executing these important task would be near impossible.

Christian Posko, Shane Rymer and Dave and Zach Kraft of the travel crew. Along with my dad, these 4 guys did everything with Alex. Christian led the marketing, purchasing and safety and security crews. Zack led the installation instruction and procedure crew. Shane gave up his last couple of weeks of fun to travel to Russia with us – 10 days after returning from Russia, Shane shipped off to Paris Island to begin serving our country as a United States Marine. Mr. Dave is the best Scoutmaster ever, taking a month off work and traveling half way around the world to help one of his scouts – he made a promise to Alex and he kept it.  All of them traveled to Pennsylvania to tour the Playworld factory and get installation tips, spent 8 days in April doing the quality check and preassemble and then spent over $2,000 of their own money to travel half way around the world to help install the playground. Alex may have been the TV star, but these guys were the real stars of the Krasnoyarsk Playground Project.

Personal thoughts from the travel crew: Here are the personal thoughts from the crew:

Zach Kraft: Most of my feelings I can not put into words, but I have a few I can. First, to be in another country with five other great people was just awesome . Also, to see how we all dealt with and handled all the hard times and changes- nothing, nothing could have prepared us for that. But that’s what boy scouts do to us, they make us prepared to handle and deal with any situation that is thrown at us. Another feeling is to see all the other playgrounds around the city in very poor conditions, and then have us come in and build a miracle (as all Russians put it) and be the first to do it, is something great beyond belief. Lastly, to see the smiles, hear the laughter, and just feel the all around happy atmosphere was but far the best thing that has happened in my life, no doubt. I thank everyone that supported this project and I thank Alex to give me and my father the chance to travel half a world away to do something many people would have seen as impossible!!!!!! 

Dave Kraft: It is hard for me to write my final thoughts on this project.  Yes as a Scoutmaster you try to work on every Eagle project that your Troop has.  My first Eagle project that I worked on was in 1984, it was my future brother-in-law at the time.  Since then I have worked on approximately 17 more projects.  I am always proud of all of my Scouts and the work that they accomplish.  The pride that I feel for Alex and the sense of accomplishment that I have with this project cannot be easily written in words.  Alex acted as I thought he would in Krasnoyarsk , but we have to remember that this is Alex.  I would not have wanted him any other way.  Traveling and finishing the project with 5 of my closest friends was a feat that will not be equaled again in my life. Zach, Shane and Posko have participated in high adventure with me and I share a feeling with them like no other Scout and now Alex fits into that category.  You have to admit that these young Scouts really and truly did a MAN’S job while we were in Russia, and I am very PROUD of them. I am very proud to be associated with Alex and this project.  The families in Russia have changed my feelings on foreign people and have left a mark on my life that cannot be erased.  It was a very emotional trip for me.  The children that watched us work, that tried to help and especially those that I watched play on the completed playground have burned a place in my heart and will truly never be forgotten.  I will close with this thought:  Zach received an e-mail from Zhenya (one of the twins) , she , Misha and Sasha went to check on the playground the other day……..even though it was raining that day there was still plenty of children on the playground, laughing and enjoying (our) Alex’s project.  Now we know that its use is exactly what we had hoped it would be.  God Bless Russia.  God Bless America.  God Bless Boy Scouts. AND God Bless our Travel Crew!!!!!!!!!

Dwight and Alex

Thanks for the opportunity to travel with you and to work on this project.  It is something that will never be forgotten.  You are very special people and you will always have a special place in my heart.

Sincerely,

Dave Kraft

Scoutmaster

Troop 809

Christian Posko: What can be said about this project? Fantastic, miraculous, and incredible are a few of the words that could be chosen as adjectives to describe one of the most inspirational projects that have been seen through in these past years.

I can remember when Alex first dreamt up this idea of his, to build a playground in his birth home. Many people were skeptical as to whether a young man could ever pull off a project of such caliber. Many of these same people thought it was a child’s fantasy that would end in the pre-planning stages. They were sorely mistaken. Alex has surpassed all expectations, taken down every opponent and overcome all obstacles this project has thrown his way. He is one of the most energetic, promising, and spectacular young men I have ever met.

This project is not just one of a young man giving back to his homeland, but one of international strengthening and stereotype breaking. I can remember one of the people I stayed with asked me what my thoughts were of Russia before I had visited. I had told them that our government feared us into the mindset of Russia being the “evil empire,” as Ronald Reagan had called it during his presidency. He asked me if my opinion had differed since my arrival in the country. I responded by telling him that his people are more generous and more friendly to foreigners than some Americans are to each other, let alone people who are the least bit different from them. I challenge every American to break my assumption of my fellow countrymen, just like the Russians showed me I was wrong about them.

The project exposed me to so many new people and things, that if I were to make a list of the things I experienced, I would need a Bible-sized book to write them down in. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to take part in a project that connects and betters the lives of so many people. Thank you, Alex, for letting me help you make the world a better place.

But someone else deserves a thanks, equal if not more than Alex: Mr. Dwight. If Mr. Dwight hadn’t adopted Alex 15 years ago, none of us would be connected in the same way at all. His guidance to Alex has been vital in keeping the project going from start to finish. In my eyes, Mr. Dwight is one of the single finest men I have ever had the privledge of meeting in my life. My hat is off to him, he deserves it.

That is all.

Shane Rymer: Shane is now about 3 weeks into boot camp at Paris Island as a future United States Marine and is not available to submit his personal thoughts. When he does, we will post it right away. We can tell you that Shane had a great experience while in Russia and his enthusiasm, spirit and hard work will always be remembered. Be safe our friend and GOD Bless you!

Dwight and Alex: Every word posted on these final thoughts(and the entire website) are a compilation of the personal thoughts and experiences of a father and son working together for 2 ½ years to bring a playground to Children’s Hospital #20 and return Alex to his roots. We hope you have enjoyed sharing this very moving and personal experience with us as much as we have enjoyed sharing it with the world.

Overcoming obstacles

There were a 1000 reasons why Alex should not have been successful. First he had to convince the scout leaders that he could do this project. He spent six months and over 200 hours in research and planning, just to ask for approval – that is more time and effort than most scouts spend for their entire project. But Alex was PREPARED and when the time came, he was ready and was able to convince the scout leaders that even though this was a huge undertaking, it could be accomplished. After initial approval Alex had to fight continued resistance from some scout leaders at the district and council level. While he did not understand the reason they were fighting him, he did not let their resistance stop him.

Then he had to get approval from the Rotary organization who all enthusiastically supported the project and worked hard to make it possible. After that he had to start the seemingly impossible task of fundraising – which started slow. Every pit beef fundraiser was hit with heavy rain, severe winds or freezing cold, but Alex kept at it. The car show was rained out. He never did the hot chocolate sales because the weather was too hot in October and there were no games in November. Candy sales went fine and were steady though out. Donations seemed to come into the Rotary club from everywhere and 5 clubs and two districts kicked in money combined with the Rotary matching grant, the Rotary organization contributed over $26,000. Alex surpassed his fundraising goal two days before he was to receive the playground. While attending an annual Easter celebration at the Russian Embassy for children adopted form Russia, a family who had two adopted children donated $5,000 which took Alex over his goal of $60,000. Along the way Alex received donations from children who were giving their allowances and birthday money and the entire student body of the Highland School, a school for children with learning disabilities that Alex attended many years ago contributed with a can drive and pennies for the playground.

There were delays in ordering the playground waiting for the matching grant to be processed – the playground got ordered on the last possible day to meet the shipping schedule, causing everyone to panic.

During pre-assembly heavy winds blew daily sometimes lifting the tarp 1 ½ feet off the ground and made the quality check and pre-assembly near impossible. It took forever to work out the shipping logistics and the container was even seized for 3 days by Russian customs, before eventually being released. There were all kinds of problems with installation in Russia – not having the bobcat and auger when we needed it, not having the digging tools, problems with the borders and sand, but we worked through it all. Just as Alex overcame one obstacle another one cropped up, but he worked though them all.

Sometimes it seems like this project was just meant to be, like it was blessed from the good Lord above. You can call it karma or the stars aligned just at the right time, but every time Alex was hitting a wall and needed a break to keep the project moving forward, he got one, just in the nick of time. It was just meant to be. There was too much good to come from all the efforts for anything to stop the success of the Krasnoyarsk Playground Project.

Russia then – Russia now

Fifteen years ago when we traveled to Russia to adopt Alex, it was just two years after the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia was experiencing its worst economic times in modern history. The ruble was basically worthless – I think a dollar was equal to about 4000 rubles at the time. Visiting Russia was like stepping back in time 50 years. The infrastructure – roads, buildings etc were in a state of major deterioration. There were no modern stores or businesses and the stores that were open had nothing on their shelves. Streets would flood with every rain – there were no storm drain system, pollution was horrible and there were no gas stations – tankers pulled over along the side of the road.

Today, Russia is a new country. Everywhere we went, with two exceptions, has seen major improvement. Krasnoyarsk has an entire new district of the city that has been built with tall apartment buildings and modern shopping malls. The downtown area has been greatly improved with walking bridges and fancy tourist attractions along the river. There are new buildings everywhere and hundreds under construction. The roads are still rough, the streets still flood, but there are gas stations everywhere. The same was true for Moscow. The quality of life that Russians experience today is far greater than that of 15 years ago.

This being said, it was sad to see that the two places that had not changes and in fact were in worst condition was Children’s Hospital # 20 and the residential apartment complex where we stayed 15 years ago. Both were in a very run down condition. We even found the playground where the totem pole idea came from and it was all grown over and the totems poles had severely rotten. Just like in America, Russia has areas where life is better and areas where it is not so good. We hope, we know that those areas in both countries, can be improved on. It’s just going to take some people like Alex, who care enough to do something about it.

The Russian people

Fifteen years ago, when they were experiencing the worst of times, the Russian people we came in contact with were incredibly nice, kind and caring. Everyone we met did everything they could to take care of us while we were there. They were good people.

Now that things have changed, it’s nice to know that the people have not. Every single Russian we met  went way out of their way to care for us, to help us, to do anything they could to see to the successful completion of the construction of the playground and to make sure we experienced life as a Russian, not a tourist. Their kind actions and words made this project possible and very enjoyable. We became part of their families and have made friends for life. They worked hard and entertained us well.

The outpouring of love from everyone who visited the playground site was something not expected and touched us deeply. We will never forget them.

The only thorn

It was our hope in the back of our minds, that maybe Alex would be able to find and meet his birth parents. We had their names and addresses from 15 years ago. For over 6 months, people in Russia have been trying to help us find them, and when we arrived, several TV stations and people from the hospital joined the search. We did find out additional information about them, but Alex was not able to meet them. He must have made 200 wishes for the reunion while we were there. Every fountain, everywhere we were told Russian made wishes, Alex made one too. He never said what he was wishing for but we knew. Maybe , just maybe they saw Alex on TV and are proud of their son. Maybe, they saw him and the pain was too much to bear to meet with him. We will never know.

How do you top this achievement?

This question has been asked a lot. The answer is you don’t. This was never about being the biggest or greatest Eagle project. It is not a competition between others, between siblings, between Alex and his future accomplishments. All this ever was, was Alex choosing to do something for his birth home, to build a playground for kids. He never wanted and really does not enjoy all the media attention. This was a once in a lifetime special project unique to Alex. He is fortunate enough to be able to call two countries his home. This was a project in a point and time when the star aligned, everything fell into place to make this project possible. Alex is glad it’s over, he has worked hard and wants to do some kid stuff again, but he will never forget the last 2 ½ years and especially the 2 ½ weeks in Russia.

Alex has left a permanent mark on the earth and on the people of the world. For the next 30 plus years, there will be a safe fun place for children to play that did not exist prior to Alex’s project. With the help of his fundraising efforts, 2 more playgrounds are being built in Krasnoyarsk. More importantly Alex has inspired others to do similar projects. Other adopted children have written him because they now want to do something for their birth homes and playground projects are being planned in the Ukraine as a direct result of people learning what is possible, what can be accomplished. The greatest legacy to Alex’s Krasnoyarsk Playground Project has been the effect it had on the people who participated. What governments and propaganda cannot do, Alex did – join the people of two nations together in peace and friendship that did not exist prior to his Krasnoyarsk Playground Project.

God bless the people of Russia.

God bless the people of America.

God bless you Alex and thank you – the world is a better place today because of you!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!

Returning to America – rough start/happy ending

Woke up at 5 to keep working on the website. We really wanted to get the 12^th and 13th posted. The site was all a mess with nothing posted previously being shown so we’ll have to try to fix that when we get home. We ate breakfast and still couldn’t print out tickets so went down for our van to pick us up at 9 a.m. to take us to the airport. At 9:15 the van had not arrived yet and for the next half an hour there were many arguments at the Academia Services desk who said they did not have us on the list and refused to pay for a cab. They said we would just have to miss our flight!! By 9:45 for were out of options – we called a 2 cabs and did the Indy 500 race to the airport – our drivers were good and could not have gotten us there any sooner. We had a little trouble finding the United counter but eventually we did only to be at the end of a very long line. We decided to upgrade 1 class to give us leg room but by the time we got through the line we had about less than 30 minutes to clear security and customs before departure time. We arrive at the gate with 5 minutes to spare and boarded. Thank god. The flight took off about ½ hour late – we had to wait for maintenance clearance.

The flight home was great. We were all exhausted and were still on Krasnoyarsk time where we got up at 4 a.m. the day before. The upgrade definitely made for a more comfortable flight. We arrived at Dulles on time, cleared customs with a breeze and were met by our wonderful families. We all missed them much and we are all glad to be home.

Please check back in a few days for another posting – it will take some time to gather our thoughts to reflect back on the last 2 ½ years of work, the amazing last 2 ½ weeks in Russia and what it means to all of us involved. But until then, Alex, Dwight, Christian, Shane, Zach and Dave would like to say thank you to everyone for your support, kindness, thoughts & prayers. We came, we worked, we completed our mission, we played, we laughed, we cried. We love.

Pictures added to August 13th post

We have added pictures to the August 13th post, the day after the grandopening. There are no captions for as the saying goes, a picture speak a 1000 words. The TV cameras and all the hoopula was over. Now it was just a playground for kids to play on and play they did. These pictures are the reason for all the hard work.

August 14th – starting the trip home

We woke up at 4 a.m., got dressed and headed for the airport. We were not able to print out our tickets in advance but it did not turn out to be a problem. Going through baggage and security was easy. It was sad to say goodbye to all our Russian, but all good things come to an end.

The flight to Moscow was fine. Arriving and baggage claim was ok but are Academic Service transportation bus was an hour late. We were trying to call but could not get the phone to work and Dwight kept trying unsuccessfully to get a cab or another bus when suddenly Alex saw a lady standing near us with the Mr. Griffin sign. She appeared out of no-where. It was now 8:30 a.m, Moscow time and 12:30 p.m. Krasnoyarsk time. We took the van to the hotel where we got breakfast and immediately reloaded into the van without checking in to begin our tour. It was also raining today.

We went to the Kremlin and took the Armory tour where we saw lots of really cool historical Russian artifacts like coaches, clothing, armory etc from the 16^th-18^th centuries. Our guide was not good or friendly at all. We were supposed to do a museum tour but we were all exhausted and still had some shopping to do as we all really wanted a cheeseburger. We got dropped off at Arbat street where we rested at the Hard Rock and did the needed shopping.

We returned to the hotel, worked on the website, ate some dinner and tried unsuccessfully to print out our tickets. It is time to come home. We are all ready.

August 13th – The day after and coming back was better than yesterday

This is our last full day in Krasnoyarsk. It began with a lazy morning and at 11 everyone met at the Rotoban amusement park. This is where the downhill bobsled run is that we saw on the Amazing Race TV show. The ride did not open until 12 so we all hung out in the café until then. At 12 we all did the ride twice. You get in a little car with very little protection other than a seat belt. You are pulled to the top of the hill be a cable and then it is a freefall of twisting turns and bumps on the way down with the only thing controlling your spped is a hand break. It was wild and fun and we all did it twice. We than ate lunch back at the café and then went to the zoo. It was a nice lazy walk and we saw some unusual animals but nothing spectacular.

After the zoo we returned to the playground to see goodbye and reflect on our accomplishments. Arriving was quite the scene. All the TV cameras and hoopula was gone – it was just a very crowded space of fun and laughter. There were between 35-50 kids playing along with all their parents. It gave all of us who traveled to Krasnoyarsk a wonderful feeling tp see it being used so heavily. Everyone there was running squee;ing with delight or laughing. We just sttod there and watched all this for a long time, soaking it all in. The boys took their share of turns playing and then Mr. Dave called everyone together for reflections – each of us took a turning describing roses – good things, thorns – bad things and buds – things we were looking forward to. It was very emotional for all of us and we had much to say but watching the children play was at the top of the list  for roses and looking forward to returning one dsy to Krasnoyarsk was a bud. The thorn was not finding Alex’s parents. A lot of people tried and he gpt some more information but he did not get to meet them. The people in Krasnoyarsk who have been helping are going to continue the search and maybe they can find them and send a picture. We sure hope so.

We had also hoped to visit Victor today but he was having a second surgery. Alina left him one of our troop 809 shirts and later that evening he called her to pass along his thanks snd to wish us well. We all then went to our homes to pack and spend the evening with our host families.

The last 12 days have been a whirlwind of activity, hard work and emotions. We could not have done more while we were in Krasnoyarsk. We came to build a little playground for some children which turned into an international event of goodwill and friendship. This simple act touched the lives of people around the world in ways we never could have imagined. We are left with the fondest memories of all the kind Russian people who came out to help or just stopped by to be there, to see or to say thanks. At the same time all of us who traveled here also had the most wonderful personal experiences, truly a trip of a lifetime. When we weren’y working, our kind host were showing us all there was to see and do in Krasnoyarsk – from hiking in the Stolby nature reserve, to guided tours, barbeques, hanging at the dachas and so much more. Our host families took us into their homes, stopped their lives for two weeks to do everything they could to help us. They went far and beyond our wildest expectations. All of this was made possible by Tatiana Khegay and Alina Tvorgova. Tatiana organized everything pulling together all the members of her Krasnoyarsk Rotary Club to provide us with housing, transportation, tools and equipment. Alina did the same rousting up her many friends who in turn provide the labor support we need to achieve our goal. THANK YOU Tatiana and Alina – we will never forget what you have done for us and your kindness and friendship.

The pictures below intentional do not have captions – they speak for themselves.

August 12th – Happy birthday Alex & grand opening

HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY ALEX!!!!! What a day it was. We woke up to news reports of hard rain all day but it had not started yet, but looked like it could at any time. We arrived to the playground at 9 to begin our CNN interviews – they traveled all the way to Krasnoyarsk to document Alex’s project – WOW! The interviews ran into one problem after another – 1^st a worker was hammering to repair a bench, then a large truck came to plant the two trees, background noise and commotion everywhere. They got Alex’s interview done just before the big opening but didn’t do Dwight’s until 6:30 in the evening – that’s how hectic the day was.

At 11 Alex and Dwight were suddenly whisked away to the maternity hospital were Alex was born. We had never been there before and were shown the room where Alex was born and the incubator where he was for 3 months. It was very moving being there. Next we were given a tour of the Children’s hospital where Alex spent the next 8 months of his life before he was adopted. We met with the nurses and doctors who cared for him, walked the halls and saw the rooms and cribs where he lived. I’m sorry to say that not much has changed in 15 years. I can tell you that two of the finest young man on the planet earth, Christian Posko and Zach Kraft, later this day made a promise that they would return to Krasnoyarsk and build a new Children’s Hospital when they are older!!! Here are two 15 year old future Eagle Scouts making a major commitment to help the children of Krasnoyarsk and we have no doubt they will do it.

Alex and Dwight arrived back at the playground minutes before the grand opening. While they were gone a crowd of 200-300 people had assembled, a balloon arch and balloon animals were set up and the playground was lined with balloons. Music was playing through the sound systems and there were 9 TV stations present and who knows how many other reporters. It was quite the festive atmosphere. Just as the program was about to begin, the sun came out – God has been looking over this project the entire time and he gave us one final blessing.

A professional event planner named Elaine served as master of ceremonies, which began at 12:10 with the ringing of the church bells. A children’s choir sang and then Tatiana Khegay, Past President of the Krasnoyarsk-Yenisei Rotary club gave a very moving speech. There were also speeches by the Deputy Mayor, the head of the Lenin District where the hospital is located and the hospital administrator. A six year old boy sang a song and the Alina’s friends from her capoeira group gave an amazing performance of strength, balance and skill. All the translators who have helped while we were here sang Alex a song. Tatiana and the travel crew finished planting the two trees – one a spruce for Russia and one a chestnut for America. Dwight tried to give his speech in Russian and destroyed it. Then Alex gave part of his speech in Russian and aced it and the 2^nd half in English which was translated for the crowd. This was followed by the crowd singing happy birthday to Alex, cutting of the ribbon and tons of kids rushing the playground while the choir sang the Beetles song yesterday. It was mayhem. The children were screaming and shouting with delight running from one component to another. We ran around taking pictures and trying to record the sounds of the children playing – sounds we will never forget. They did not exist before Alex’s Krasnoyarsk Playground Project. Everyone was flooded with interviews, being pulled here and there.

After 2 ½ years of work, 2705 known hours of labor of which 838 were by Alex alone, thousands of emails and phone calls and a commitment of time, expertise, materials or money from over 600 people in 78 cities, 23 states and 5 countries, Alex’s Krasnoyarsk Playground project is now completed and children are now screaming and laughing as they play on it. Wow!!!!

About 1:30 we ate lunch and then traveled to an orphanage Alex most likely would have gone to had he not been adopted. On the way the promised rains finally came, maybe Gods way of shedding a tear for those children who do not yet have families. This was one of the nicer orphanages in Russia we were told by the CNN crew who have seen many. The children are placed in groups of about 15-18 kids and they all sleep in one room and then there is a second room in which they do everything else – eat, play and learn. We all got to play with the children which was quite fun. While it was nicer than we expected, this is no way for a child to live. This orphanage is for special needs children age birth to 4 years who have a host of medical or psychological issues. In 15 years, 700 children have been adopted from this orphanage and the and the rest are awaiting families. We need to find families for these children so that they do not spend the rest of their lives here.

After visiting the orphanage we all traveled back to Tatiana’s flat. Dwight went outside to do his CNN interview while everyone chilled for a few minutes. At 7, everyone involved with the project went to a celebration dinner and meeting of the Krasnoyarsk-Yenisei Rotary Club. There were many speeches given praising the project and its participants. Rotary banners were exchanged and Dwight presented Tatiana with the wood block from South Africa that is making its way around the world one Rotary Club at a time. Alex was presented with many presents and a birthday cake. Everyone had a great time celebrating what has been accomplished and most of the speeches and conversations were about the goodness of the people of Russia and America, how we can work together for a common goal and achieve much, how all of us on both sides of the ocean have been touched by this simple playground project and how it has changed our perspective of the world. Those of us who traveled here to Russia from America certainly have been changed in ways words can’t describe. God bless America. God bless Russia. God bless the children of the world waiting for a family to call their own and God bless all those who helped to make the Krasnoyarsk Playground Project possible.

August 11th – final touches and waiting for tomorrow

We arrived at the site at 9 and began to clean the playground. We were able to get a hose that made it. Dwight met for a long time to finalize plans for the grand opening with Tatiana, Alina and an event planner who had called to volunteer her services when she heard about the project. Next we hauled off the remaining debris and then cleaned out the shed of all the tools and equipment we brought from America. They will be given to the people who will be maintaining the playground. We put in post for the Rotary sign and a group of about 15 yellow shirted volunteers from the city marched onto the hospital grounds to begin cleaning up the general hospital ground area by weed wacking the tall grass and picking up trash.

Several more people came to speak with us, one wanting to place her 3 month old baby for adoption – we referred her to Cradle of Hope who were so good to us 15 years ago. An elderly man in his 80’s and his wife spoke to Alex and Dwight with tears in his eyes for a long time. At the end he said “you didn’t bring a playground – you brought a miracle”. It is very moving listening to how this project has touched so many people so deeply – it really is quite overwhelming.

After lunch we all went downtown to do some shopping and had some pizza. At home Alex and Dwight worked on our speeches and the website.

There are great plans for tomorrow. It will be a celebration of hard work, tenacity, love for others, peace between nations and compassion for our fellow man. This project has touched the lives of so many people on both sides of the earth and all of us involved cannot wait to hear the sounds of the children playing. Till tomorrow……………………..

August 10th- setting the totems, finishing sand & retracing our steps

Today started off great and finished better, but there were a few glitches along the way. We began by installing the totem poles. We were supposed to have a bobcat, but it did not show so we installed then by hand. We moved them with wheelbarrolls and then tilted them into place. The benches were tough because we had to install one end into the large totem pole and then lift up the smaller ones so the bench could fit into the slots. The allthread went through the angle iron supports with ease and they look GREAT!!! Thank you Randy Boni and Rick Pratt – everyone LOVES you creations.

All that was scheduled was the totem poles and to clean the playground. The city was supposed to send crews with a bobcat to finish the sand and to install the walk and grass. We met last week and officials came out this morning but not crews. The 1^st load of sand arrived around 10:30 without bobcat or crew so we immediately began to install it. About 1:00 a dump truck with a dump truck size trailer arrived. The problem was with the trailer there was no way to get the sand next to the playground as planned. So they dumped the trailer load of sand in the road. When they dumped it we discovered it was the wrong sand so now we had 12 cubic meters of the wrong sand in the road. Luckily we caught it before they dumped the 2^nd load and we used the sand as build up layer below the correct sand. Then a 3^rd load of the correct sand came and was dumped in the proper place, We have now installed 72 cubic meters of sand. As soon as the 3^rd and final load came, 2 more dump trucks of sand arrived. Apparently there was a mix up with the people arranging the sand delivery and orders were placed with a private vendor as well as the city. We sent the 2 extra loads away to another hospital playground site which the Rotary is working on.

About 3:30 when we had about ½ load of sand left to hand move, the bobcat showed up. The city was coming to install the walk which they laid asphalt over a stone base. See pictures of hand held wheelbarroll they were using. It sure would have been nice to have the bobcat when we needed it. They never did install the grass. We were told that an internet company heard about the project and will be planting two trees tomorrow – each to be a native tree of our two countries.

During the day Dwight went to the hardware store to pick up some misc items for the totem poles but had a hard time translating – never was able to get a nail punch or get them to understand what a nail punch is. Russian hardware stores are different from American. In America you have zillions of choices, you select an item and then take it to the cashier to check out. In Russia, the stores are very small and there is one choice for each product. You tell them what you want and then they go in back and get it for you after you pay.

Today both Alex and Dwight visited Victor, the boy who helped us all last week who is recovering from surgery on Friday. We could only go in one at a time with Alina, our translator. It was good to see him and he is doing fine. His mom was in tears about us coming to visit.

I forgot to mention yesterday that while we were visiting the dam, a lady recognized Alex from a TV story and thanked him for what he is doing.

We wrapped up work around 6:30 and Vlad took Alex, Dwight and Dave to a hospital that treats children with tuberculosis. The average minimum stay is over a year and about half the children are orphans. The Krasnoyarsk-Yenisei Rotary club has taken on the challenge to build a playground there. As it turns out because of the overwhelming support of Alex’s Krasnoyarsk Playground project, Alex will have a substantial amount of money left over that is being donated to the Rotary Club so that they can build the playground at the tuberculosis hospital, so now Alex’s efforts have lead to TWO playgrounds – amazing. The second playground is scheduled to be completed in spring 2010. The two loads of sand we didn’t use today were delivered to the hospital and kids were already playing in it. We met with the chief Doctor who thanked Alex for his contribution.

Since we have been here we have wanted to retrace our steps of 15 years ago to find the apartment we lived in while adopting Alex and the playground with all the totem poles. The trouble is, there are probably 500 apartment buildings that were built during the Soviet Union era that look like the ones we were in. Dwight described to Vlad the general area, we knew it was close to the old section of the city because we could walk to it from our flat and that we could see the mountains from our balcony. Unknown to use, Vlad has spent months prior to our arrival on the internet searching down leads of where they might be. After a couple of false starts, and some more detailed info from Dwight we suddenly arrived at the playground with the totem poles. It was in a much deteriorated condition but were still there – quite remarkable. We even found the flat we stayed in. we could see the lumber on the balcony – still there after all this time. Valatine and Vadim, our host from 1994 no longer lived there, but it was great to find. The dirt that the babushkas swept every night was now asphalt and the soccer field/ice hockey rink was a new building but everything else was the same.

What I discovered was that the apartment complex we lived in and Children’s Hospital # 20 have not changed in 15 years, in fact are in much worse condition, while the vast majority of the city has undergone a major transition and improvements, the two places where we were have not. It was like stepping back in time. At 1^st Alex did not want to revisit these areas, but once we found them he was very excited about being there.

We came home and began working on finalizing the plans for the grand opening on Wednesday. It is going to be quite an event. A 6 year old boy who will be singing came for a visit.

Another remarkable day.

August 9th – rebuilding the curb and visiting the dam

We started at 10 since everyone was way out of the city at the dachas. We hand dug about 3’ wide across the front of the playground to expand the play area and moved the concrete borders. It was an easy day.

Many people continued to stop by and watch as well as take pictures of the sign we installed yesterday. One man missing a leg asked for Alex and thanked him for what he is doing. We finished moving the borders around 12:30, ate lunch and just hung out waiting for our rides to take us to the zoo at 2. The zoo was too crowded so we went down to the Yenisei River dam – which was the 3^rd largest in the world when we were here 15 years ago but Tatiana says since then China has built several bigger. The large mural of Lenin has been removed. The kids played skipped rocks at the river’s edge. We stopped at an overlook where Jenny and Dwight took Alex and we took some more pictures, 15 years later. The kids went bike riding and skating at the park downtown while Mr. Dave and Dwight returned home to work on journals and the website.

August 8th – fine tuning and going to the Dacha

We had a short day of work today from 10 to 2. We checked and tightened every fastener on the playground and then drilled and installed rivets to the clamps and poles. We spread the remaining sand although we will need another 2-3 dump truck loads – we already have spread 3. We also measured and cut the allthread for the totem poles which we are going to install on Monday.

Just as we were wrapping up a bunch of members of the Rotary club came by and there was a lot of discussion about the concrete border – 1^st why is it concrete and 2^nd that it was too close to the slides. We had argued these points many times when they insisted on us using the concrete because they can’t get the wood and when the borders were being installed and now following the layout we had done. It was agreed to keep the concrete borders but to move to borders in front of the slides out to where they belonged. We were planning to take Sunday off but now we will be working. To make matters worse, later in the day when we were going out to the country to visit Tatiana’s dacha, we passed no less than 3 lumber yards with the exact wood we needed. Oh well.

We installed the sign which almost immediately people stopped and began taking pictures of it or of themselves next to it. It is written in Russian and it reads:

There are so many occasion where people come up to thank us that there is no way we could report them all or even remember them all but here are a few examples. One of our host family fathers worked today wheelbarrolling sand and when he was done he thanked us for allowing him to do so. He said he hasn’t done anything like that in a long time and he enjoyed it very much. He also said he feelings for Americans have changed and he likes us very much.

There is a man who rings the church bells across the way from the playground and he wants to take off work on Wednesday to ring the bells for the grand opening ceremony.

When we finished our work we out drove about a half hour into the country side to Tatiana’s dacha. Going there was interesting because you’re driving 50-60 miles an hour on a 2 way road with no lines. Driving in Russia is definitely a unique experience. A dacha is a small house or shack where most Russians go every weekend and many weeks during the summer. They are very simple places and all have big gardens. There is no running water at a dacha – although we had a pump to spring water and you use a outhouse with a seat 6” off the floor.

It turned out to be a big picnic with all the host families and some other friends. There were 10 other teenagers in addition to our kids. They were playing soccer, volleyball (without a net) and just hanging out. It was great time.

One thing they do different is they do a lot of grilling but without grills. Americans probably spend a billion dollars a year buying fancy grills. The Russians just place a couple rows of loose brick on the ground, build a wood fire and when the coals burn down they grill. We had fish, pork, beef and lots of fruits and vegetables. It was a really good time.

During the course of the evening there was much discussion about boy scouts. In fact boy scouts is a word that did not exist before our arrival and now a whole city knows what boy scouts are and what we do. And the icing on the cake is that Mr. Dave has convinced Tatiana’s son, Max, to start a Cub Scout pack when his son turns 6 (he is now 3). Add one more item to the list of major accomplishments – getting scouting started half a world apart!!!!

The highlight of the evening was experiencing a Russian Banye – something like a sauna but much different. On the property was a small building maybe 10’x15’. It had a small porch and then a small 6’ wide room with a couch. The rest of it was a sauna but instead of hot stone they had a wood fire that heated it. It would hold 5-6 people and was very, very hot. You also wore really funny looking hats that protected you head from the heat. After the 1^st round we would go in one at a time and one of our Russian friends would come in and beat us with birch branches. Yes, you read right, beat us with birch branches. They were in bundles and still had leaves on them and it was like a massage – it was really great. Then when they were done beating you, you would step out of the sauna and they immediately douse you with a full bucket of ice cold spring water. It was felt great and refreshing.

We all spent the night in the dachas.