Kakiri is a long way from Kampala, Uganda. The drive only takes us an hour but the transition from crowded city to rural hills is refreshing.
In Kampala we are surrounded by dust and traffic noise. At the Gem Village we are soothed by bird song and a lush green landscape.
Beauty matters to well-being and it was in this spirit that Gem Foundation Directors EmmaLee and Josh Quisenberry sought out a new place to call home.
Together with their staff, they had been caring for over 40 children with severe special needs in a cramped 3-storey building in Kampala. It was sandwiched between busy streets and a nightclub.
City air quality was poor and carrying children in wheelchairs up and down flights of stairs was not sustainable.
After finding 88 acres of land in the countryside, Josh and Emma contacted EMI for design and construction management of the new Gem Village in 2017.
Staff and children—known here as Gems—moved to their new home in May of 2020, which has been expanding with them since then.
But there was one big dream yet to come into reality: a place to play.
“We had so many needs, but we had never built anything for fun before. It was time for our kids to just be kids.”
— EmmaLee Quisenberry, Founder/Executive Director, The Gem Foundation
Kids with disabilities don’t only want to be able to access a space—they want to join everyone else in the activity. That meant the play space needed to be designed to appeal to everyone.
The staff of EMI Uganda had never attempted this type of work. Undaunted, Landscape Architect Hannah Arensen says, “We’re called to serve our clients in the ways that they need and what Gem needed was a place for their kids to play.”
EMI Uganda sought the help of Chad Kennedy, a leading designer of inclusive play spaces, and Justin Wilson, from Playspace Creative. A team of enthusiastic volunteers dove in and spent lunch hours and late nights contributing their skills as well.
The overall aim is to have a peaceful and restorative aesthetic throughout Gem Village.
In the design phase, Hannah brought flowers and plants and let the children give feedback on what they liked to touch and smell. Then she looked for opportunities to save trees and add flowers and sensory elements everywhere possible in the finished playground.
“God created us as humans to need Creation, and as landscape architects we get to incorporate that into design.”
— Hannah Arensen, EMI Landscape Architect
Working on a project so far outside EMI’s usual sphere meant the team was met with numerous challenges. Sourcing and installing artificial turf required learning a new skill.
Additionally, safe play structures for children with special needs are not the sort of item one can buy at the local hardware shop.
To meet stringent safety requirements and be durable enough to withstand the climate for the long haul, many pieces had to be designed and built by EMI’s construction workshop in Kajjansi.
Never having worked on these types of structures before meant the team had to think and work creatively.
Foreman George Kigozi says, “Challenges are good because they help you grow. I thank God for that because I don’t think it will stop with this project.”
Construction Manager Paul Semayengo smiles fondly remembering the months of team effort required to source and procure the artificial turf, trouble-shoot the roller slide, and craft the wheelchair spinner.
“It’s a nice feeling,” he says, “doing something you didn’t know you could do. It’s very satisfactory.”
“We’ve been working together for so long,” Hannah told me, “Gem’s ministry feels like an extension of EMI’s ministry. That close connection lets us see the real impact of what we do,”
With severe special needs, many of the Gem’s lives are too short. This new place to play has made each day of life more fun, more special.
The thoughtful inclusion of plantings brings a soothing atmosphere for a positive impact on mental health, fueling the desire to be outdoors in nature.
One of the nannies said something revealing, “the children are always asking, ‘can we go to the playground?’ No one just wants be in bed.”
On a cool morning in early May, the playground is alive with Gems and their nannies.
With its truly inclusive design, the playground can be enjoyed by everyone. Nannies can play with their Gems, and children of staff can join the fun too.
The wheelchair spinner is one of the favorite play areas. Spinning is good therapy for children with mobility difficulty.
Sensory elements like the gravel ladder allow children to feel textures with their feet and hands and work on fine motor skills.
The touch wall gives the Gems a space to explore with their fingers, a common delight of children with autism.
Every element of the playground was designed to encourage motor skills development in a way that does not feel like therapy or hard work.
No one is left on the sidelines to watch. No one is forgotten or unable to join the fun.
And everywhere I look, everyone is smiling.
