The three million children affected by the Sichuan earthquake one month ago will need support for years to come to recover from the aftermath of the disaster.

Wyndham James, Country Director for Save the Children in China, says: “Children are most vulnerable in an emergency and it will take years, not months, to get their lives back to some sense of normality, especially those who have been orphaned or separated from their parents.”

Save the Children is responding to the earthquake that hit Sichuan province on 12 May and killed more than 69,000 people and made many millions homeless. It is helping children living in tented cities that have been set up to house families whose homes were destroyed.

“Children have very different needs after a disaster. They need to be protected from further harm, to be kept healthy and to return to school as soon as possible. So far the government has shown good understanding of the specific issues facing children and we hope that this will continue as the response moves from relief to rehabilitation. We welcome their commitment to providing psychological support for students and to providing temporary schools so children can re-start their lessons while new schools are built.”

Save the Children is supplying school equipment and supporting children from smaller, marginalised schools to return to education. It is also working with community groups to provide younger pre-school children with care and activities.

To further protect children living in the camps, Save the Children has set up five spaces where they can play safely with others while their parents try to rebuild their lives. So far 550 children have benefited from the child-friendly spaces in Mianzhu and An counties and we will be setting up another 10 in other, affected areas.

Save the Children is also starting work on a health programme that targets carers and babies under two. We are planning to construct five baby bathing stations where mothers and other carers can bring their young children to wash them, away from the other facilities in the camps. The stations will provide health and hygiene information and distribute baby towels, baby powder, baby food, and mosquito nets.

For more information please contact:
Li Yahui, Press Officer, Save the Children in Beijing on + 86 10 6500 4408 ext. 519 or Kathryn Rawe, Media Manager Asia, Save the Children in London on +44 (0)20 7012 6841.