WESTPORT, Conn. (April 6, 2009) — Save the Children has deployed emergency experts to central Italy, where a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck in the early hours of Monday morning and displaced thousands of people. The team will focus on assessing and responding to the most urgent needs for children.

Families struggle to keep warm after the earthquake, April 6, 2009. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi. Courtesy alertnet.org

"Children are among the most vulnerable during any emergency. With this disaster, they were forced from their beds and out into the streets in the middle of the night, which is particularly frightening for small children," said Charles MacCormack, president and CEO of Save the Children, based in Westport, Connecticut. "Thousands of families are now homeless and will need help to get their lives back together. We stand ready to assist."

In addition to providing lifesaving relief as needed, Save the Children staff expect to establish psychosocial support programs for children as well as establish family tracing systems for children separated from their families. The agency also will provide support so that schools can reopen as soon as possible.

"The closure of the schools in the disaster area, although necessary, is also a stressful event for the children. We need to ensure that children can return to the schools as soon as possible to get back to their normal routine, play with their peers and begin to recover from this difficult experience. The psychological effects may not be immediate and might take days to manifest — the next few days will be crucial for these children," said MacCormack.

Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. For more than 75 years, Save the Children has been helping children survive and thrive by improving their health, education and economic opportunities and, in times of acute crisis, mobilizing rapid lifesaving assistance to help children recover from the effects of war, conflict and natural disasters. For more information, visit: www.savethechildren.org