Media Center

© UNICEF/China/2010/Frankie Chen In the aftermath of the April 2010 Yushu Earthquake, UNICEF and its partners have set up four Child Friendly Spaces in Jiegu Town, Yushu County.

BEIJING, July 14 2010 –In the aftermath of the April 2010 earthquake that struck Qinghai Province's Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, UNICEF and the National Working Committee on Children and Women (NWCCW) have combined to establish four Child Friendly Spaces to support the long-term recovery and wellbeing of earthquake-affected children and women.

Thousands of earthquake-affected children across Jiegu Town, the epicentre of the earthquake, have already accessed services at the Child Friendly Spaces, which have been set up in the south, west and centre of town. The Child Friendly Spaces are providing earthquake-affected children with a complete package of community-based services, including psychosocial support, social work and structured play and recreation activities.

©UNICEF/China/2010/Frankie Chen UNICEF has equipped the Child Friendly Spaces with books for a wide range of young readers.

UNICEF and NWCCW have  provided each of the Child Friendly Spaces with tents and equipped them with books, arts and crafts materials, sports equipment and early childhood development toys. Additional supplies, including Tibetan language books, music instruments and toys and games for use in psychosocial support activities, will continue to arrive at the Child Friendly Spaces in the coming weeks.

According to Xi Xiaoling, the Chairwoman of the Yushu Prefecture All-China Women's Federation, "In the months since the terrible earthquake, residential tents were set up so children and their families could have safe places to sleep at night, and prefabricated classrooms were set up so children could return to school. Now, with the Child Friendly Spaces, children in Jiegu Town will also have a safe space in which they can interact with other children and together recover from the psychological distress of the earthquake." 

©UNICEF/China/2010/Frankie Chen Children at UNICEF's Child Friendly Spaces are encouraged to express themselves and share their feelings through artwork.

On 8 July 2010, UNICEF held a training workshop for the staff, volunteers and managers of the four Child Friendly Spaces in Xining, the Qinghai provincial capital. Also participating at the workshop were social workers, psychologists and education specialists from Qinghai Normal University. These local experts were joined by national-level experts who have worked with UNICEF over the course of the last two years in setting up Child Friendly Spaces in Sichuan Province, where a devastating earthquake struck in May 2008.

To date, the 40 Child Friendly Spaces set up in Sichuan have provided services to more than 100,000 children. As UNICEF and its partners continue to develop services at the four new Child Friendly Spaces in Jiegu Town, many more children will benefit.

About UNICEF in China:
UNICEF first assisted China between 1947 and 1951, providing emergency services, food and nutrition, health and hygiene training during and after the War of Liberation. In 1979 UNICEF recommenced its cooperation with the Government of China which today supports child health and nutrition, clean water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence.  

©UNICEF/China/2010/Frankie Chen Two girls play the triangle in one of the UNICEF-supported Child Friendly Spaces in Yushu County. Art sessions are also an opportunity for children to interact with their peers

For further information, please contact:
Dale Rutstein, UNICEF China, +86 13910973801, drutstein@unicef.org or
Liu Li, UNICEF China, +86 13701066671, liliu@unicef.org