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Three days after a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck Yunnan Province on 3 August 2014, Tiantian, an eight-year-old boy managed to survive the destructive disaster, but now he dares not to go to sleep at all.  He lives in a village located close to the epicenter and that was seriously affected by the earthquake.

“He looks exhausted but he is too scared to close his eyes,” said Liu Bangqiong who is from the local office of the Working Committee for Children and Women and working with volunteers to help children and women seeking medical assistance after the quake. Tiantian's situation has caught attention of psychological support team. “There's another 18-year-old girl whose two younger brothers died in the earthquake. She feels very guilty and she never talks, and never cries.”

Emergencies impact children physically, psychologically and socially. During the first 72 hours after the emergency, the immediate response focused on life-saving relief efforts, while relatively less attention was paid to the psychological and social needs of children and their families. 

The earthquake took place in a very poor and mountainous area of Yunnan Province. Many young adults from this area migrate to work in other cities, leaving women and children in their homes. A large part of the earthquake affected population are children, women and seniors. Due to the remote and mountainous location, along with heavy rains, the area has been difficult to access and logistics have been compounded by heavy rain and the risk of landslides.

Liu Bangqiong is very worried about the psycho-social needs of the children affected by the earthquake. “We cannot go to the villages which are severely damaged. I guess there must be many children who need psychological support, too. My main concern is the psychological recovery of the children and women seriously affected by the earthquake,” she added, “Once we can go into those areas, we are planning to set up child friendly spaces for children.”

UNICEF is already working with the National Working Committee on Women and Children to provide Child Friendly Spaces in Yunnan Province, offering children a safe, well-organized and friendly environment where children can come to play, seek counselling and community-based social welfare services. 

Before the earthquake, Liu Bangqiong was involved in the establishment of the Child Friendly Space in Qiaojia County, which are already offering support to children affected by the earthquake. She hopes that the five new Child Friendly Spaces UNICEF is establishing in response to the earthquake can be set up in the most affected communities of the earthquake zone very soon.

Tiantian's name has been changed to protect his identity.