Gaza Crisis

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Media contacts Casey Calamusa | 206.310.5476 Rachel Wolff | 253.394.2214

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World Vision calls on donors to prioritize psychosocial needs of children

April 17, 2009—World Vision’s new report ‘Why did you let me get hurt?’ urges action to ensure support and counselling for the children left to cope with the destruction and deaths of family, acquaintances and peers. The humanitarian group is conducting a large post-conflict relief effort in Gaza, where it has long worked in agricultural and community development programs among impoverished families.

The report urges Israeli and international authorities to ease restrictions that currently prevent adequate training of teachers to offer psychosocial support at public schools; building safe areas for children such as playgrounds and playrooms; or importing goods used for humanitarian purposes, including toys, paper and crayons.

Resources for journalists 'Why did you let me get hurt?' Conflict and siege threaten Gaza's young minds: PDF report Judy Moore’s diary from Gaza Status of Gaza's children Request video or photos WV statement on Gaza crisis How your audience can help Request aid worker interview Request policy expert interview Follow us on Twitter Learn more World Vision's ongoing work in Jerusalem-West Bank-Gaza Reuters AlertNet Relief Web Other emergency responses Press releases 06/18/2009 02/05/2009 Statement on second anniversary of Gaza blockade Psychosocial help for traumatized children is urgent priority for World Vision in Gaza 01/30/2009 Family emergency kits enter Gaza today, World Vision says 01/27/2009 Gaza: Humanitarian workers & aid await entry 01/22/2009 World Vision begins food aid for thousands in Gaza 01/21/2009 World Vision scales up response, targets 100,000 people 01/18/2009 Statement from World Vision on Gaza ceasefires 01/14/2009 More than 200 lives lost since UN call for ceasefire ... 01/02/2009 World Vision targets 50,000 with emergency assistance 12/29/2008 World Vision calls for immediate stop to Gaza violence A Palestinian girl fled with her family from their house. Half of Gaza's 1.5 million residents are children. A recent World Vision survey reveals many of Gaza's children experience bedwetting and nightmares as a result of fear and anxiety linked to the ongoing conflict. Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA) A Palestinian boy watches the burial of 4-year-old Lama Hamdan and her sister Haya at Beit Hanoun cemetery in the northern Gaza Strip December 30, 2008. The two sisters were taking out the trash near their home, medical workers said. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA).

Family Emergency Kits, the first phase of World Vision's emergency response to the crisis in Gaza, are loaded at a UN compound in Ramallah in the West Bank. The first shipment, destined for 1,144 families in Rafah, Gaza, contains basic food items and a flyer explaining the dangers of unexploded ordinances. ©2009 Jennifer Chiodo/World Vision. Food, blankets and candles are among items most urgently needed by people living in Gaza because of the damage to the infrastructure. World Vision distributed these items to hundreds of Gaza's neediest familes. © 2009 Shafiq Yousef/ World Vision World Vision will reach over 2,000 children in Gaza with psychosocial support by providing places for them to engage in normal activities and find relief from the realities of war. © 2009 Judy Moore/World Vision World Vision distributed family emergency kits to hundreds of families in South Gaza's al-Shouka village in February, 2009. © 2009 Shafiq Yousef/ World Vision When disaster strikes, contact us for expert interviews, photos, b-roll and other resources.