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Save the Children Helps Child Quake Survivors in China
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Children wait at a food distribution in Mianyang, Sichuan, China. Save the Children / Qilai Shen/Panos. |
Westport, Conn. (May 21, 2008) — One week after a 7.9 magnitude earthquake shook southwestern China, Save the Children, a global humanitarian and relief organization, is preparing to establish child-friendly spaces and temporary classrooms for primary schools in earthquake-affected communities.
For children whose caregivers have survived, Save the Children, working alongside the local Red Cross, plans to establish five temporary child-friendly spaces in Deyang Prefecture in Sichuan Province. These child-friendly spaces will create a sense of normalcy and provide a safe place for children to play, learn and socialize. These areas also will help to support parents and caregivers while they seek assistance, recover from the grief of losing family and friends, and start to rebuild their lives.
"These children need to have a safe area they know they can go to for some sense of normality, and help to overcome the enormity of what they've just experienced," said Zhong Hang, director of Support Services for Save the Children in China.
For children who have no caregivers, Save the Children will support the Women's Federation of Sichuan Province to create four temporary child-friendly centers in Mianyang, Deyang and Chengdu, while family tracing begins. With decades of experience working in natural disaster and conflict settings, Save the Children knows that special care and protection is needed for children who have been separated from relatives, whose family members may have been killed, or whose relatives may be looking for them having returned from migrant labor work elsewhere in the country.
"This is a chaotic situation," said Wyndham James, China country director for Save the Children. "It is vital that children are kept safe while their parents are searching for them. The government has announced that it will care for the children until things calm down, which we hope will give time for that to happen."
James added, "It is important now to set up centers that can provide a safe place where the tracing work can begin so children and parents can be reunited. This is important for children, but it's also hugely comforting for parents to know."
The agency is also working with the Education Bureau in Mianyang and Deyang Prefectures to help set up 12 temporary classrooms for primary school children, ages 6 to 12, by providing desks, chairs, text books and other school supplies. Save the Children also plans to work with the Education Bureau to develop a special curriculum that will include psycho-social support and hygiene education.
Save the Children staff continue to work closely with the International Red Cross, the Women's Federation of Sichuan Province and the Ministry of Civil Affairs — the agency charged with coordinating the country's rescue and relief efforts — to assess children's needs in communities affected by the earthquake, and to offer expertise, where needed.
The relief effort by the Chinese government has been extensive and rapid. According to news reports, there are currently more than 130,000 Chinese troops participating in rescue and relief efforts. The full extent of the quake damage is still being assessed, including the impact on children who were particularly vulnerable while at school during the quake. Officials estimate that more than 41,000 people have died, with that number expected to increase, and more than 247,000 people are reportedly injured. Rescue operations continue to be hampered by strong aftershocks, landslides and fears of flooding from lakes formed by the earthquake.
The government declared a three-day period of national mourning, starting Monday, May 19. As part of the observance, the country marked a three-minute period of silence yesterday — at the same time at which the earthquake struck one week ago.
Save the Children has worked in China since 1995 and currently has 150 national staff — almost all local nationals — in 23 provinces. All staff are reported to be safe and accounted for. The agency implements programs focused on education, protection and health.
By donating to Save the Children's China Earthquake Fund, you will help us meet the needs of children and families living in communities affected by the Sichuan earthquake.
Learn more about Save the Children's response in China.
