Neighborhood nonprofit opens new park for the children of Williwaw

WASILLA — Williwaw has a new park in the heart of the Bogard Road area neighborhood, equipped with playground equipment for children of all ages.

This is the first community park ever to stand in the area, thanks to efforts by the new nonprofit group Families for the Improvement of Safety and Health (FISH) or, “The Williwaw Project,” and their community partners.

Neighborhood children play at the playground everyday, according to FISH co-founder and president Abraham Sayen. He said that he gets emotional every time he drives by it and every time he gets a text from a neighbor telling him how much their kid loves it.

“I turn that corner and I’m crying seeing kids playing,” Sayen said.

The park isn’t complete and there’s several additions FISH plans to have installed next year, including a pathway, pavilion, ping pong tables, and a community greenhouse. There’s wood fencing wrapped around the playground but there’s still about 200 or so pieces needed to wrap all the way around.

Sayen said they held a soft opening for the park so the neighborhood kids could get to playing. He said they’ll do another grand opening when it’s all finished.

“That’s what this opening was all about… the neighborhood’s loving it,” Sayen said.

FISH officially became a 501©(3) nonprofit organization Aug. 2018. They began constructing the park this summer, clearing the land and erecting the playground equipment.

“It’s important for kids to have a playground, a place to be safe,” Sayen said.

This is the first major project for FISH. Co-founder and treasurer Rachel Sayen-Lambert said the highlight of this whole learning experience was seeing the kids finally get to play on the equipment.

Lambert-Sayen noted another highlight has been witnessing the transformation happening from within. Neighbors are far more connected than she’s ever seen, often smiling and waving at each other, checking in now and again. She said it’s a huge contrast from how disconnected it used to feel.

“They’re on our side, cheering us on… people care,” Lambert-Sayen said.

This longtime dream became a reality after countless hours of work with FISH in conjunction with getting their small business Sayen Family Bookkeeping and Tax Service off the ground. Their cozy cottage office is inside Williwaw, the place they grew up and the place they’re raising their families.

“We’re exhausted but it’s very rewarding,” Sayen said.

The park was also made possible by the support of local partners like the Wasilla Sunrise Rotary, Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation, and the Mat-Su Health Foundation.

Lambert-Sayen said that Sayen and FISH member Marceau Lambert did 90 percent of the physical work.

“Just two guys building a park,” Lambert-Sayen said.

Plus, numerous people in and out of the neighborhood have pitched in to help. Coffman Engineers penned the schematics for free. A Williwaw resident and heavy equipment operator, Danie Jensen, found out about their project and wanted to help. She offered her tractors and helped clear the land.

“It’s heartwarming to see people jump out and help in their own little ways,” Sayen said.

The Williwaw neighborhood is struggling with high levels of addiction and crime. FISH aims to improve the area one “broken window” at a time.

The concept for the group was inspired by the Broken Windows academic theory proposed by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling in 1982. The theory used broken windows as a metaphor for crime disorders seen in struggling neighborhoods with squat and flop houses. The idea is to literally clean up the area, beautify it to instill positive change overall.

Having a centralized playground helps create new friends, for both the kids and the parents. It offers the children instant access to quality playtime. When the new additions are complete, residents can meet up for a game of ping pong or check on their edible harvest in the greenhouse.

Lambert-Sayen said the big goal is to make the park a community gathering place, a “positive hub” to hold board meetings, picnics, and other meetups to keep building a sense of community throughout the year.

In addition to getting the park from paper to playground, FISH spent their first year as an organization holding numerous holiday events and functions. From spring clean ups to community trick or treating, they’re all designed to bring the people of Williwaw together.

Their annual pumpkin carving event will be on Oct. 19 and they’ll host a patrolled community trick or treat Halloween night.

Contact Mat-Su Valley reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com