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Asia / Pacific: Urgent help needed to prevent trauma among child survivors of disasters
5 Oct 2009
By World Vision staff
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In a World Vision Child Friendly Space in the Philippines, a staffer talks to children about their rights and responsibilities.
Photo by Juan Miguel Lago.
©2009 World Vision International |
Child survivors of the recent disasters in Asia are at risk of long term psychological distress or trauma without urgent help, says a World Vision expert on children.
“Children are especially vulnerable psychologically to disasters," says Tamara Tutnjevic, child protection advisor for the organisation's Asia Pacific region. "Can you imagine what it is like for a young child to lose their house, maybe to see their friends or family members killed and to see even their parents unable to provide for them? Literally everything a child knows about their world is turned upside down. It is very important to give children a safe place where they can play, to provide them with sense of stability, routine, normalcy, to get them with their friends and away from the distress all around them."
As part of its 90-day earthquake response plan in Indonesia, World Vision will open 13 Child-Friendly Spaces – nine in Padang Pariaman and four in Kota Padang. Child-Friendly Spaces are structured, safe places where children can play with other children, relax in a safe place, learn basic skills to cope with the shocks and losses they’ve experienced, and receive informal education. The spaces are designed to provide psychosocial support to children after a disaster or conflict.
The agency also is setting them up in Manila in response to Typhoon Ketsana, which devastated the Philippine capital last week, killing more than 300 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.
Child-Friendly Spaces are run by community volunteers who receive training on child protection practices and psychosocial support from World Vision staff. The aid group has established them during recent crises in Myanmar, Darfur, and Pakistan.
"Children who do not get help could end up being traumatized, both in the short and long term," Tutnjevic says. "In the short term, they can be overwhelmed by all the changes and fears, perhaps withdrawing into silence, and experiencing vomiting, diarrhea, sleep disorders. They also can become more aggressive or be unable to participate in play. In the longer term, children could find it difficult to manage their emotions, lose interest in school, friends and social activities, and have long term developmental problems."
Young children up to the age of four could suffer regressed development, going back to thumb sucking, suffering nightmares, or developing tics and begin stuttering, she says.
World Vision is urging the Indonesian and Philippine governments other humanitarian organisations to prioritise relief efforts that meet the urgent physical and psycho-social needs of children in the quake zone.
Because of unsanitary conditions and lack of clean water or disinfectant, even minor injuries sustained in a disaster can become life-threatening without medical attention. In addition, collapsed buildings, destroyed homes, and flooded paths and waterholes continue to pose safety hazards for children left unsupervised. Children need appropriate food, adequate water and sanitation, and shelter as soon as possible. Without these basics, children’s immunity against disease will be severely compromised.
In addition, World Vision’s relief workers are distributing nearly thousands of emergency kits in Indonesia and the Philippines. The kits include blankets, soap, baby powder, personal hygiene supplies and tarpaulins. The team also is handing out 1,000 collapsible water containers to families.
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