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Farhan Idrees, 11, plays ball during his lunch break at the child protection center provided by USAID in Malkan village, Mansehra district. Photo by Kaukab Jhumra Smith/USAID

USAID’s Child Protection Centers Help Earthquake Survivors

Islamabad - More than 1,700 children have found critically needed emotional and social support in 40 supervised play centers established by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the International Rescue Committee (IRC). These "child-friendly spaces" provide a safe place to restore routines and provide reassurance in areas where children’s schools were destroyed by the October 8 quake.

Azra Iqbal, a resident of Malkan village, NWFP, supervises two shifts at the village’s 170-member child protection center. She described the crucial role the centers have played in helping children become expressive again after the trauma they have experienced. "In the beginning, the children wouldn't talk. They were totally quiet," Iqbal said. "But in the last six months, there has been tremendous improvement in their participation. Without this child-friendly space, these children would be roaming the streets."

Samina Gul, an IRC child protection manager, explained how the trauma of losing homes and schools can be compounded by the loss of daily routines like attending classes and playing with friends. The centers, according to Gul, have been providing the children with needed routine and reassurance.

Each center is staffed by an adult supervisor and two volunteers from within the community. Supervisors attend a three-day training workshop to introduce them to participatory teaching techniques and alert them to ways to handle children’s psychological trauma.

Girls ages three to 18 and boys ages three to 16 attend the centers, with most children participating for more than three hours a day. The time the children spend at the centers helps their parents to carry out crucial rebuilding work.

The United States, through USAID, is providing more than $1.5 billion in development assistance to Pakistan over the next five years to improve education, health, governance and economic growth. In addition, the United States has pledged a total of $510 million in earthquake relief and reconstruction efforts to assist the people of Pakistan and to support Pakistani government relief and reconstruction efforts.