Helping children come to terms with loss after Nepal quake
Kathmandu, Nepal - World Vision is setting up Child Friendly Spaces to help address the emotional needs of children whose lives were devastated by the Nepal Earthquake.
The charity is establishing six of the protected places, where children can play and express themselves, in areas affected by the disaster. Temporary learning centres will also be set up in the same locations.
Arpanah Rongong, Child Protection Specialist at World Vision Nepal, said: “There are immediate emotional needs as well as practical ones. Many children lost everything they knew when the earthquake struck. It claimed lives of parents and friends, and reduced homes and schools to rubble."
“Child Friendly Spaces are protected places for children to start coming to terms with this loss, giving them a bit of calm amid the chaos. Young people often start expressing their emotions through artwork, which helps them start to make sense of the devastation around them.”
The first three spaces become operational on Friday 1 May, are in Tudikhel and Lalitpur.
Over the coming days World Vision is continuing to meet the immediate needs of 100,000 people providing sleeping mats, blankets, water, temporary shelter as well as protection for children.