Classes and Games Help Kids Experiencing Post-Earthquake Trauma

“When children undergo trauma, it is important that they are able to do things that are normal for them to do, like play and be around other children their age,” said Sachina Khaladi, a counselor working in the camp. Photo: Robert L. Kellett/Mercy Corps.

When he smiles Ali looks like an eight-year-old you might meet anywhere in the world. His face lights up and reveals a big gap that is waiting for a front tooth to take its place.

But his warm smile and easy manner belie what he is feeling inside. He is sad, scared and confused. His life has been turned upside down and his young mind is having a difficult time processing all that he has been through.

Ali is one of thousands of children in Bam that is having difficulty coping with life after a 6.6-magnitude earthquake destroyed the town and killed their friends and loved ones. Living in cold tents and feeling the rumble of daily aftershocks, parents across the city share stories of children waking up at night shaking from nightmares.

"When the earthquake hit I ran out of the houses with my parents and then it collapsed. I was very scared," said Ali, a story echoed through a city where more than 30,000 lives were lost and 70 percent of the buildings destroyed.

Efforts are being made to provide children like Ali with counseling and fun activities. In a shelter camp that has been set up by Mercy Corps and Peace Winds Japan, more than 300 families have access to child counselors, games and activities. The children spend their days taking classes in tents made into temporary classrooms, playing games on a makeshift playground that has a slide and seesaw, and learning how to make crafts. At night there are comedy skits that both adults and kids enjoy.

"When children undergo trauma, it is important that they are able to do things that are normal for them to do, like play and be around other children their age," said Sachina Khaladi, a counselor working in the camp.

Khaladi and her staff work to identify children that are suffering from trauma and then design activities to help them overcome their fears. One child with whom she has been working is a five-year-old boy who arrived at the camp in such a state of fear that he refused to be more than a foot away from his mother at anytime. After working with him one-on-one, Khaladi persuaded the boy to take part in a group activity and soon he did not notice that his mother was not nearby. The next morning he was one of the first children to arrive at the playground.

"It is good that my children are able to take classes and to play," said Mershad Ashnofi, who has four daughters under the age of fourteen. "When we first came to the camp there wasn’t much to do, but now at least the kids can keep a little busy."

As for Ali, his favorite way to spend time these days is chasing his friends around on the playground, an activity that might come in handy if he grows up to be the policeman that he dreams of becoming.

"I like to go to school and play on the seesaw here," Ali said, before hearing his name called out by a friend in the distance.

With a quick smile he’s off to chase after the friend. In that moment Ali is an eight-year-old boy without a care in the world.