Save the Children reclama ayudas psicosociales para los más de 70.000 pequeños que viven en las zonas más afectadas
Crecer en viviendas insalubres, problemas de salud mental como miedo a la lluvia, o la interrupción de su educación son algunas de las secuelas que ha dejado la dana en los más de 70.000 niños y niñas que viven en las zonas más afectadas por la catástrofe de la que el próximo martes 29 de octubre se cumplen seis meses, según advierte Save the Children en un comunicado.
El responsable de la respuesta a la emergencia de la dana de Save the Children, Rodrigo Hernández, recalca al respecto que llevan trabajando con los menores desde que la barrancada «les ha arrebatado parte de su infancia» y aunque «poco a poco la situación de las miles de familias de las zonas afectadas va mejorando, todavía queda mucho trabajo por hacer».
Así, se calcula que el paso de la riada provocó daños en más de 75.000 viviendas en la zona cero, and although progress has been made in the reconstruction work, many families with children and adolescents still live in apartments that do not meet the adequate conditions. Living in places with serious construction deficiencies, unsanitary conditions, or in overcrowding has effects on the health, safety, and well-being of individuals and especially affects the growth, development, and opportunities of children and adolescents, warns.
This is the case of Eduvmary, a neighbor of Paiporta with a 10-year-old son and a 10-month-old baby. «The mold in my apartment has destroyed everything, affecting all sorts of things from wood to clothes, we had to throw everything away. My children have contracted respiratory diseases as a result,» she says.
Hernández warns that growing up in inadequate environments «impacts not only their physical health but also their mental health: it can cause anxiety, depression, anger, or even difficulties in sleeping or affect school performance.»
Therefore, he sees it as «essential» to increase and consolidate aid for the renovation and rehabilitation of affected homes, continue strengthening housing alternatives, and take measures for the most vulnerable families, who often live in rental properties, many of them even without a contract.
Furthermore, it is noted that children have been one of the groups most affected by the mental health effects of the catastrophe: «Six months later, there are still children who are afraid of the rain, atmospheric phenomena, or going out on the street, while the main symptoms of adolescence have been experiencing feelings of anger, rage, or having sleep problems, and some of them have entered a stage of sadness.» Therefore, Save the Children calls on the authorities to strengthen child and adolescent mental health services.
«Every time it rains, my older son is afraid, and he asks me if I will pick him up from school. I always try to reassure him by telling him that if that happens again, he should go to the top floor, not come home, wait there calmly, and help his classmates,» Eduvmary recounts.
AN INTERRUPTED EDUCATION
Similarly, the NGO notes the effects of the dana on education. In the first weeks, it is estimated that nearly 40,000 children and adolescents of compulsory school age were unable to attend classes due to the damage caused, resulting in many of the contents not being taught, as well as other needs that have not been met.
To this day, there are still many children who cannot attend their educational center normally because the reconstruction work is not yet completed or they are still in temporary classrooms, Hernández points out.
In this regard, he requests, with the end of the school year approaching, «support and reinforcement programs in the medium and long term so that the content that could not be taught can be recovered, as well as to flexibilize evaluation criteria and not consider repeating a grade as an option, as it is a socially unfair measure.»
Furthermore, in an emergency context, signs of violence against children can emerge. Therefore, Save the Children has set up seven safe and child-friendly spaces in different municipalities in the area.
In these spaces, a team of professionals, including social workers, psychologists, educators, and pedagogues, offer emotional, physical, and educational support in a safe environment, while being protected. They also engage in sports, creative activities, and play.
«These spaces are essential for all families in the affected areas, as here they are not only safe from physical risks and any type of violence, but they also continue their education and receive psychological care to process all those feelings that the catastrophe has generated in them in a safe environment. In short, these are spaces where they can regain part of the childhood that the dana has taken from them and be who they are: children,» explains Hernández.