One of Save the Children’s priorities in emergencies is to keep children affected by the disaster safe with a community they are familiar with and with people they know. These areas can also ensure their basic needs for food, water and shelter are met and introduce a routine of normal activities back into their lives as quickly as possible. Opportunities for play, education and to express themselves in a variety of ways are critical in helping children overcome their experiences.

This is why the charity is calling for safe and supportive areas for children to play, learn and meet with other children within their local communities. The areas could also give support to parents who need to recover from family loss or leave their homes to begin rebuilding their lives.

Zhong Hang, Director of Support Services for Save the Children in China, says: “These are dangerous times for children, with shifting rubble, thousands of people wandering homeless and aftershocks from the quake still reminding them of the disaster they’ve been through. These children desperately need to have safe areas they know they can go to for some sense of normality and help to overcome the enormity of what they’ve just experienced”

“We’ve sent a team into the area to do an assessment of the impact this disaster has had on children to begin setting up safe areas for them and their families. With areas near this epicentre still uncovered, reports of up to 80% of buildings destroyed, and rain and landslides adding to this, we fear the news they’ll report back with will not be good.”

The government has now sent in 50,000 rescue troops and has allocated US$100 million to the response effort.

For more information, please contact Diane Robinson, Save the children New Zealand communications coordinator: 04 381 7573 or email: communications@savethechildren.org.nz