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Photo Gallery: Child-Friendly Spaces in Disaster Zones
World Vision protects and cares for the most vulnerable victims of disasters by establishing Child-Friendly Spaces in affected communities.
Child-Friendly Spaces provide a disaster’s youngest survivors with a safe place to play, participate in structured activities, and experience healing from any trauma and loss they’ve experienced. They also allow children to return to healthy routines and experience a sense of normalcy again.
photo by Kevin Cook/World Vision |  | 1 » Lebanon War—July 2006 » Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah displaces more than 1 million. Children eagerly volunteer to participate in the next activity at a Child-Friendly Space established in Beirut for children who fled fighting in the south. “I have never seen my children so happy since the war broke out. I can barely recognize them with their smiling faces,” said Fatima, a displaced mother. |
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photo by Ruth Hudson/World Vision | | 2 » Indonesia Quake—May 2006 » A 6.3 magnitude quake in central Java renders 650,000 homeless. Children in Kebom village dance and sing to celebrate the opening of the first World Vision Child-Friendly Space opened in response to the disaster. “I like the singing best,” said Pungki Retno, 8, shouting above the joyful cacaphony. |
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photo by Cristina Toma/World Vision | | 3 » Romania Floods—April 2006 » Rising water in the Danube River bursts a dam and displaces thousands. Evacuated children from Rast enjoy reading and playing games in a Child-Friendly Space set up in a tent. “Since the disaster hit us, it is the first time we have heard laughs again,” said teacher Nanu Aurelia. |
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photo by Cherry Marcelo/World Vision | | 4 » Philippines Mudslides—February 2006 » A landslide buries hundreds alive in St. Bernard municipality. Children temporarily forget their troubles at a Child-Friendly Space established at an evacuation center for survivors. Vice Mayor Felix Lim told children to remain hopeful despite their experiences. “This place can help us forget—not our loved ones who died—but the pain and the sufferings the experience has caused us,” he said. |
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photo by Moussadiq Ali/World Vision | | 5 » South Asia Quake—October 2005 » A 7.6 magnitude quake renders more than 3 million homeless in Pakistan and India. Children and World Vision staff lighten the mood by participating in a “hare race” at a Child-Friendly Space at Bissian relief camp in Pakistan. “I have been regularly taking part in the activities and I really enjoy it all,” said Tahir, a fifth-grade student. Tahir’s mother and sister were killed when the family home collapsed. |
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photo by Jon Warren/World Vision | | 6 » Asian Tsunami—December 2004 » One of the deadliest natural disasters of modern history kills more than 200,000, chiefly in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. Idawati, 5, is comforted at the World Vision Child-Friendly Space in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. When she first arrived at the Child-Friendly Space, Idawati, who was orphaned by the tsunami, was withdrawn, confused, and aggressive. But over time, she began to participate. “We almost cannot see the tragedy they’ve lived through,” facilitator Safriati said of the children. |
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[PDF] | | The photos above were featured in
World Vision Magazine—Winter 2006 [PDF].
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