Child-Friendly Spaces (CFS) are opening in Pakistan and several hundred children are taking their first tentative steps inside.
Escaping Devastation
A World Vision CFS is a large tent filled with toys, games, crafts, and caring World Vision staff members. It's a clean and safe place where children can go to escape the devastation and express their feelings. World Vision has erected two CFS and plans to put up at least 14 more.
An estimated 1.6 million to 2.2 million children are affected by the quake. Many of those who survived witnessed horrible things such as classmates, parents, or relatives killed or injured. Furthermore, the quake destroyed about 8,000 schools in the North Western Frontier Province and Kashmir.
Dealing with Tragedy
Farina, a vivacious 13-year-old from Balakot, remembers the walls of her classroom collapsing around her, of being pounded by flying bricks. One thought was foremost in her mind.
"I had to get out and save my sisters," she says. Misbah is in first grade and Laraib is in the second grade. Farina found their classroom and dug through the rubble by herself. The girls were alive when Farina got to them.
Farina's next oldest sister, Sayra, was in third grade. Farina positioned herself over the remains of Sayra's classroom and began to dig. Her mother rushed to the school and joined her daughter in clawing through the debris. When they finally uncovered Sayra's body it was too late.
'We couldn't recognize her. Her face was so black and bloated. We identified her by her feet, because of the nail polish she was wearing," Farina says.
Experiences like this is what makes the work of the CFS so critical. Children need the chance to express their feelings, to trust others, and find self-confidence. A cataclysmic event like an earthquake strips away a child's sense of security.
Fostering Security
A Child-Friendly Space gives children a sense of safety, a routine, and contact with adults who can be trusted. Staff members also provide children with informal schooling, and teach them life skills such as sound hygiene practices. When receiving snacks, for example, the youngsters are taught to wash their hands and use garbage bins for wrappers and empty containers.
Providing Warmth
The tents used for World Vision's CFS are winterized, and space heaters may be added as needed. Having a warm place to stay during the day will help hundreds of homeless children survive the cold winter. Click here to donate.
