Safe spaces provide healing for tsunami survivors in Solomon Islands
Child Friendly Spaces are helping children recover after an 8.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami left behind a trail of destruction in the eastern-most province of the Solomon Islands.
Children on Santa Cruz Island in remote Temotu Province have been seen playing near the sea shore again; a place that for months after the disaster they feared most.
More than 350 children benefited from the 15 Child Friendly Spaces established after the tsunami, to provide a safe environment for children to heal, play and participate in educational activities.
Regaining a sense of normalcy is essential for children’s recovery following a natural disaster. For 5-year-old Janes, being able to play again was important, saying “Now we have lots of things to play with. We play, sing and tell stories.”
World Vision provided 29 teachers with Child Protection, Psychological First Aid and Child Friendly Spaces Training. Regular follow-up support has been provided to communities through in-person visits by community facilitators and staff familiar with World Vision’s on-going Early Childhood Education and Care Development Approach.
Parents are also benefitting from the Child Friendly Spaces, as they are able to look for work and rebuild their lives, knowing their children are being looked after in a safe space.
World Vision is working closely with partners, including the Temotu Provincial Government Education Authority, to develop long term plans that will see the Child Friendly Spaces transition to permanent Early Childhood Education Centres.
On 6 February 2013, 23 communities in Santa Cruz Island were nearly destroyed and 6,000 people were impacted by the disaster including 11 people who lost their lives. World Vision was the first agency to respond to the disaster by dispatching emergency aid and essential items such as food, water, hygiene and sanitation supplies, and shelter kits in co-ordination with the Solomon Islands National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and other agencies. World Vision was the lead agency, responsible for the relief distribution in the province and is the only International Non-Government Organisation with a permanent presence in Temotu.