Turning Crisis Into Opportunity:

Helping Children Recover

When the 7.9-magnitude earthquake rocked Sichuan Province in May, 2008 – causing at least 69,000 deaths and displacing up to 10 million people – Mercy Corps was there to help.

After the Sichuan earthquake, Mercy Corps helped children recover. These students at the Yunji Primary School enjoyed the games organized by a theater troupe and its play about the importance of hygiene. Photo: Norman Ng for Mercy Corps

The earthquake was especially shattering for thousands of children who suffer disproportionately during natural disasters because they are both physically and psychologically more vulnerable than adults. Tragically, the quake struck during school hours when students were gathered in classrooms. There, and after returning home, many children saw that their friends and relatives had been killed or injured, while the places they thought of as safe – home and school – were destroyed or damaged. Children then had to endure the stress of living in tents or crowded shelters. The earthquake shook their most basic sense of security and stability.

Experts believe that providing psychosocial support to children soon after a disaster can prevent symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from escalating into a lifelong condition.

That’s why, even as we rushed emergency supplies to the area, Mercy Corps began working with two local partners – the Sichuan Youth Federation (a subsidiary of the All China Youth Federation) and the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation – to help children cope. We launched two programs, Comfort for Kids and Moving Forward, to train area mental health professionals to support children after the quake.

These became our largest-ever China initiatives. As always, we’re building local capacity through our programs, teaching caregivers so they in turn can train their peers.

Comfort for Kids provides caregivers with basic trauma training and a customized workbook so they can lead workshops that help children express their feelings in a safe environment. For the Sichuan earthquake, Mercy Corps collaborated with senior- level psychologists, such as the Chinese American Psychoanalytic Alliance, and dedicated volunteers to adapt, translate and print 60,000 copies of this valuable therapeutic tool.

Moving Forward trains caregivers to lead organized recreational activities for children that provide them with a safe, structured environment, create a sense of normalcy, alleviate stress and build resiliency. While adults focus on rebuilding their homes and livelihoods, children participating in Moving Forward activities can rebuild their self-esteem, practice teamwork and regain trust – all crucial to healing.

Again with an eye to capacity building, we provide Moving Forward program leaders with a toolkit that includes detailed instructions, an activity guide and a variety of play equipment. We teach them to identify youth trauma and apply core psychosocial themes through interactive sports and games. In Sichuan, we trained more than 500 caregivers to help 30,000 Chinese children.