Choon Wang's letter

Pasir Ris Secondary School

390 Tampines Street 21
Singapore 529400

21 July 2008

To Minister Mah Bow Tan
Feedbacks and Suggestion for Playgrounds in Tampines

We are writing this proposal to you to propose to you about our specially designed playground that we have came up with.

Tampines neighbourhood has many attractive and colourful playgrounds. Many children from different ages often gather in all these playgrounds to play and hang out. However, there are some things which are missing amongst all these playgrounds, which are special functions to cater to the needs of mentally disabled children.

We have done researches on children with Down Syndrome. Amongst them, some have weak hearts, hearing problems, eye problems, skeletal problems and skin disorders.

For children with a weak heart, our playground has few steps so it decreases the need of much movement. For hearing problems, our special playground has light flashes at the openings to guide the children. For eye problems, we have installed fixed and hidden music boxes so that children who are inside the playground can navigate their way out of the playground when there’s a need. For skeletal problems, we have soft foam/rubber coverings that cover hard textures and edges so that they do not hurt themselves if they fall. For those who have skin disorders, we make sure we have many roof and shelters covering the playground and its areas so that even when it is raining, children can still play and enjoy themselves there.

All these special functions cater to the needs of Down Syndrome children. We hope that you take this ideas and suggestions into consideration. Thank you for taking your precious time to read this letter.

Yours truly,
Loh Choon Wang,
Student,
Pasir Ris Secondary School