Facing the aftermath at 3' 5"

For children, surviving a natural disaster is only the beginning of a long, difficult journey. A child's small size and weaker immune system leaves him or her vulnerable to injury and life-threatening illness. Emotionally, children are unprepared to deal with the new realities they're facing. This is especially true when mom or dad has died, home has collapsed and life is stripped of anything familiar or comforting.

In the months following the Haitian earthquake, World Vision focused on the well-being of children. Our experience in hundreds of emergencies worldwide helps us understand what they are going through in Haiti, and what they might need from us.

In Haiti, our child-friendly spaces are good places to meet some of these needs. They are safe places for boys and girls, offering a break from the daily grind of life in the camps. A child-friendly space provides structured programming in the form of music, games and crafts. At a time when life is upside down, it's a crucial return to normalcy.

Somewhere to go

Life for children in the Port-au-Prince camp known as "Parc Acra" was miserable when they first arrived there in January. Parents and caregivers had to focus on day-to-day survival. With rubble everywhere and aftershocks to contend with, there was nowhere for children to go.

"Since they couldn't go to school and there was nowhere for them to play, parents would have them help with the chores, cooking, cleaning, getting water," said Noladia Alexandre, one of the volunteer teachers at World Vision's child-friendly space in Parc Acra. "Many of the children stayed inside their tents all day long."

But here at the child-friendly space, children have a chance to draw—a good way to begin expressing what they're feeling. A picture of fallen buildings or injured people shows the terror, shock and loss that a child might be trying to process. The drawing of new house or happy people shows a glimmer of hope in the darkness.

Nine-year-old David has just finished the picture of a house very different than his own. "My house was completely destroyed by the earthquake," he shares. But the crayon house in the picture is standing tall and strong.

"Life is good"

At the same child-friendly space, a twelve-year-old boy named Mygal sits in a drum circle, beating his home-made instrument. As the circle of children plays drums made from plastic containers and sticks found in the camp, the younger children smile and form a dance circle, clapping and singing.

When asked about how life has been for him and his younger brothers since they moved to Parc Acra camp and started coming to the child-friendly space, Mygal smiles and says simply: "Life is good."

Danger all around

Outside the child-friendly spaces, children continue to face dangers to their survival. Without basics such as food, clean water and sanitation, their young immune systems can't combat disease and illness. Living in crowded and cramped conditions, their health symptoms often go unnoticed by adults who are focused on just helping their families survive.

A child's ability to survive disease is closely linked to his or her level of nutrition beforehand. A malnourished child is the first to succumb to infections; vital organs are weakened.

"The single most important thing we can do to keep these children healthy is to make sure they have the right nutrition," says Mirjo Hyppolite, a child nutrition advisor for World Vision. Mirjo travels around the camp, reaching children through a mobile health clinic. She takes the time to assess children's weight-to-age ration, and height-to-weight ratios.

If a child can't come to her, Mirjo goes to their tent. Her team can recognize early if a child is dangerously malnourished, and help him or her receive the proper food or treatment.

Life-giving water

For children, the diarrhea caused by drinking dirty water can be life-threatening. There needs to be water by the latrines for washing hands, but it needs to be stored and used in such a way that people cannot contaminate it by using it. Bathing with dirty water can create skin conditions and sores that easily get infected, so there needs to be enough for each member of the family to use once a day.

That's why World Vision trucks in water to the camp, twice a day. "We fill our buckets until it's all gone," explains Marie, a mother. "But if people miss out, we share with them. If World Vision didn't bring it, there would be no water at all."