Playgrounds Designed With Accessibility In Mind Make Play Fun for Every Kid

Soar Experiences, a New York-based nonprofit, provides free guided outdoor tours for people with limited mobility using Trackchairs, rugged, battery-powered all-terrain wheelchairs that can traverse hiking trails. The program has recently expanded to 15 public hikes across New York and Connecticut, helping people living with disabilities connect with both nature and each other.

After volunteering for the special olympics, Maria Omare decided children with disabilities in Kenya needed a space where they would be treated with dignity, care, and respect. So she rented a one-room space, and called it the The Action Foundation, a grassroots organization that provides social inclusion and education for children with disabilities. Eight years later, the organization has ballooned, “since 2012, the foundation has helped almost 240 children with various needs, large and small.”

Minnesota is purchasing “track chairs” with all-terrain treads for its parks that people with disabilities can use for free to access more areas and trails.

A Mongolian man named Ulziitogtork transformed a former granite mine that was filled with rubbish into a park/community center for children that sits on top of an artificial lake. Children used to play in the mine, which presented a real health risk, but now they can use the park to boat, ice skate, watch movies over the lake, and learn about Mongolian culture. Ulziitogtork considers it a work in progress and is counting on the local government to address the pollution and infrastructure problems that led to the park's creation, but already provides fun for over 6,000 children a year.

Children with disabilities often feel excluded in amusement parks where they are prevented from going on rides, and they don't feel included with the other children. Morgan's Wonderland amusement park and Morgan's Inspiration island water park are designed for children or adults with disabilities but can also be used by able-bodied individuals.

Police officers in schools can turn minor disciplinary indiscretions into criminal justice matters and foment the school-to-prison pipeline. To lower arrests, some California districts have imposed formal limits on police powers in school and different police training.

Love INC has built a free wheelchair ramp lending program to fill a gap left by insurance providers that typically don’t cover them. After securing grant funding and secondhand ramps at steep discounts, Love INC developed an application process, recruited volunteer installers, and now has three ramps in active circulation across the community.

The Bayanga Human Rights Center in the Central African Republic has helped restore Indigenous Ba'aka people's access to justice, administrative documents, and political participation. They've done this through a combination of grassroots legal assistance, mediation, awareness campaigns, and grievance mechanisms—resulting in criminal convictions for serious abuses, reduced conservation-related complaints, and Ba'aka members now serving on local councils.

Several churches in North Central Ohio are successfully removing barriers for families with disabilities through specialized ministry programs. Champions Club at Storyside Church serves children with trained volunteers in sensory-friendly spaces adapted to each child's needs. Pure Joy at Ashland Grace Church uses a buddy system to serve 17+ participants with varying needs. And Wonderful Works Ministry extends this impact globally by providing free online coaching to churches worldwide, having reached 200 pastors.

Disabled farmers in Kashmir are adapting agricultural practices through locally-fabricated tool modifications, adjusted work timing, and traditional soil/seed management techniques that reduce physical labor by 15-50% and enable them to continue farming despite increasing climate stress.