Westport, Conn.
(October 23, 2007) - Save the Children, a humanitarian agency that
responds to disasters and works to improve the lives of
children around
the world, is deploying a team of crises experts to assist children and
families affected by the devastating wildfires in Southern California.The team, which will be posted
to San Diego, will provide assistance to children and families evacuated from their homes. "We know from experience that the needs of children are rarely a
priority in emergency
situations," said Mark K. Shriver, Save the
Children's vice president for U.S. programs. "When children are
displaced from their homes and schools and their routines are
disrupted, they
suffer in unique ways, and sometimes they lose faith in
grown-ups' ability to protect them."Save the Children, which has responded to nearly 20 emergencies
around the world over the
last year, works with the American Red Cross
and other national disaster response organizations in the United States
to ensure that the particular needs of children are addressed during a
disaster.
The agency has already trained 60 Red Cross staff members and
shelter volunteers in California to set up and run its trademark
program "Safe Spaces" for children in evacuation centers. The
agency
also has provided the Red Cross with 20 safe play kits for use in
shelters. The Save the Children experts traveling to California - several of
whom worked in the Gulf after Hurricane
Katrina - will support this
effort, assess the damage and identify other needs of children impacted
by the wildfires.In addition, Save the Children and Mississippi State University'sEarly Childhood Institute will monitor the status of child-care
facilities in the region affected. The agency will reach out to these
facilities and local schools to offer assistance in the effort to
get
children back into school and child care as quickly as possible once
the fires have receded. "Returning children to their normal routines is a proven way to help
them recover from
loss and from the frightening images of destruction
they have experienced firsthand or they may have seen on television,"
said Shriver. "It also allows parents the time and space they need
to
get their lives back together."Save the Children implements long-term literacy and nutrition
programs in California's Central Valley and in San Bernadino. The
agency also
advocates at a state and national level to raise the
priority of children in disaster planning, response and recovery.Save the Children works in more than 50 countries, including the
United
States, and serves more than 33 million children and 32 million
others working to save and improve children's lives, including parents,
community members, local organizations and government
agencies.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
