When Sa'adatu Usman, Founder and CEO of Global Citizen Inc. (GCI), arrived in Canada from Nigeria, she encountered challenges familiar to many newcomers. Despite having skills, experience, and a strong desire to contribute, she faced barriers related to employment, childcare, transportation, and community connection.
Those experiences eventually led her to build a community organization dedicated to helping newcomers navigate the same barriers and, more recently, to launch the Intergenerational Play Bridge (IPB), an initiative designed to grant access and strengthen connection across generations, cultures, and communities.
IPB emerged from community conversations. Parents described the challenge of finding affordable activities for children. Newcomers spoke about language barriers, transportation challenges, and long work hours. The result is an initiative that brings children, youth, parents, grandparents, newcomers, and long-time residents together.
Rather than creating another age-specific program, GCI tried something different. The organization designed an intergenerational outdoor play initiative where families could participate together. Inspired in part by Nigerian storytelling traditions, where seniors pass stories to children, and by food sharing and learning across generations, the initiative creates opportunities for people to connect through play, conversation, culture, and community.
Canada's Quality of Life Framework identifies Sense of Belonging to Local Community as an important indicator of quality of life. By creating accessible spaces where people of different ages and backgrounds can participate together, IPB helps strengthen the relationships that contribute to belonging and community wellbeing.
Free to Play is a nationwide initiative focused on getting children outside and creating opportunities for unstructured play. The Intergenerational Play Bridge (IPB) is GCI's own initiative, developed over several years but unable to move forward without funding. Support from Community Foundations of Canada, delivered locally through the Community Sector Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, provided the opportunity to launch IPB under the broader Free to Play initiative.
IPB builds cultural exchange into everyday experiences through food, stories, movement, crafts, cultural attire, and play. Participants are encouraged to share traditions from their own backgrounds, creating opportunities to learn about the cultures already present in the community.
One signature activity, Tales by Moonlight, brings seniors and older community members together with children to share stories, food, and experiences. Inspired in part by storytelling traditions familiar to Sa'adatu's upbringing in Nigeria, the activity creates opportunities for knowledge-sharing across generations and cultures.
One participant described the experience as taking them “down memory lane” and reconnecting them with stories from their childhood and culture. Sharing stories with children became a “magical moment.” Seeing children laughing, participating, and engaging with the stories gave them an opportunity to share something meaningful from their own life while connecting across generations.
The project launched in June 2026, running one to three sessions each week. The first session drew mostly volunteers; only one participant showed up, with her two children. Attendance grew quickly from there: 76 participants on July 4th, 65 on July 11th, and 57 on July 26th, subsequently reaching over 100+ participants, with roughly 65 percent of attendees falling within the target age group of children and youth (0–16).
Young people were invited to become Play Ambassadors who helped shape activities, facilitate events, and contribute ideas. Ambassadors also supported younger children during activities, giving parents opportunities to connect with other adults while knowing their children were engaged and supported. Rather than being passive participants, young people became co-creators. They received honoraria, built leadership skills, and helped shape the initiative itself.
One parent described the impact on their family. Their children were naturally shy and found it difficult to connect with other children. Through IPB, they were able to participate at their own pace in a safe and welcoming environment. Over time, one of those children became a Play Ambassador, helping support younger participants and contribute ideas. As the parent reflected, “Free to Play didn't just give my children somewhere to go. It gave them a space where they could slowly find their confidence and discover that they also have something to contribute.”
The work evolved through ongoing conversations and participant feedback. Removing barriers became central to the design. Food is included in every event, transportation support is available, and locations, language, and scheduling are regularly reviewed to improve accessibility.
Organizers describe this as “meeting people where they were.” Programs were adapted based on participant feedback and promoted through trusted channels such as WhatsApp groups and word of mouth. Early interest was strong, with more than 250 families signing up, but participation grew as the initiative responded to the realities of families' lives.
GCI's connection to Tamarack goes back to early 2025, when Sa'adatu applied for the Circle of Actions Cohort and GCI was selected as a participant. Since then, Tamarack has supported the organization's work through resources, letters of support, grant application guidance, peer knowledge-sharing opportunities such as the Community of Practice, and a small grant.
Sa'adatu shared that “Tamarack has been instrumental in our storytelling journey, supporting our impact framing and service delivery, and providing valuable mentorship and peer learning opportunities” and that “these contributions have truly enhanced our work”.
Children and youth spend time outdoors, build friendships, and connect with caring adults. Newcomer families find welcoming opportunities to meet people and learn about their community, while seniors and younger generations share stories, experiences, and knowledge.
One of the most important outcomes has been stronger relationships across generations and cultures. The initiative has also shown that programs are more effective when they adapt to people's lives rather than expecting people to adapt to services.
Children, youth, parents, newcomers, seniors, and long-time residents are spending time together in ways that traditional programming often does not allow. They are sharing stories, exchanging knowledge, and building connections that continue beyond individual events.
Looking ahead, the team hopes to secure funding that will allow the initiative to continue beyond the summer months. They also plan to keep expanding youth leadership opportunities and using community feedback to guide future programming.
The Intergenerational Play Bridge is built on the idea that connection should not be reserved for one age group, one culture, or one stage of life. A child making a new friend, a newcomer family meeting neighbours, a senior sharing a story, or a young person stepping into leadership may seem like small moments on their own. Together, they are helping build a more connected Newfoundland and Labrador.
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